Rudolph the red nosed reindeer had a very bioluminescent nose. A reply to van der Hoven et al. 2012

• Main Authors: Crooks, Neil, Marriott, Claire, Clifforth, Hannah R., Ahmed, Zain A., Xhikola, Arnold, Penny, Samuel G., Pernetta, Angelo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam 2017
• Subjects: C300 Zoology; D322 Animal physiology; Rudolph; Rangifer tarandus
• Online Access: http://eprints.brighton.ac.uk/17640/; http://eprints.brighton.ac.uk/17640/1/Deinsea%2017-6%20Crooks%20et%20al.1.1%20PROOF%5B1%5D.pdf

Research published in Deinsea by van der Hoven et al. (2012) identifies the cause of Rudolph’s infamous red nose to be the consequence of hyperemia of the nasal mucosa induced by the exertion of pulling a heavy load. Van der Hoven et al. (2012) claim that the excessive stresses endured whilst flying with Santa Claus and the sleigh in tow resulted in cerebral and bodily hyperthermia, overworking the nasal cooling system, causing the nose to glow. Whilst we recognise van der Hoven et al.’s (2012) central tenet of highly vascularized nasal mucosa in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus Linnaeus, 1758) helping regulate nasal heat exchange, we concluded that this is unlikely to be the causal factor of Rudolph’s particularly iridescent appendage for multiple reasons.