Damaliscus dorcas
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English: Blesbok
German: Buntbock
French: Blesbok
Spanish: Blesbok
Distribution areas
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The blesbok and other species of
Damaliscus live in South Africa. The animal
inhabits prairie regions.
Description of the fur
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The skin is from 1.8 to 2.3 m long. The The surface structure
fur coat is light red-yellow in colour. The of the skin, 200x
front part of the body is dark-brown, while
the belly and the back are white. The coat of the blesbok is from 15 to 27 mm
thick; the hairs are straight, and the underfur is not distinguishable.
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Damaliscus dorcas
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English: Blesbok
German: Buntbock
French: Blesbok
Spanish: Blesbok
Structure of the hair
---------------------
The microscopic structure of the skin
surface is usually smooth; the hair
follicles are narrow with straight edges
and contain only one hair shaft.
The fine fur fibres are from 10 to 30 µm
in diameter. The cross-section is circular Longitudinal section
and the cuticular scales are cornet-like of a fine fur fibre, 2000x
with a smooth surface and straight scale
margins. These fine fibres are
non-medullated.
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Damaliscus dorcas
-----------------
English: Blesbok
German: Buntbock
French: Blesbok
Spanish: Blesbok
The intermediate fibres are very similar
in structure to the guard hairs but their
width is from 50 to 70 µm. The hairs are
sickle-shaped in cross-section. The
cuticular scales are even, tile-like (on
the concave part) and crenated, tile-like
(on the convex-shaped part of the shaft),
their surface is smooth. The medullary
column is of the predominating type, The cuticular structure
unbroken longitudinally and central of an intermediate hair, 600x
-symmetrical in the cross-sectional
outline. The infilling medullary substance is of the complex-sheet-like
structure.
The guard hairs differ from the intermediate ones only in their thickness.
The diameter of the guard hairs is in the range of 70 to 100 µm.
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Damaliscus dorcas
-----------------
English: Blesbok
German: Buntbock
French: Blesbok
Spanish: Blesbok
Transverse section
of an intermediate fibre, 200x
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Damaliscus dorcas
-----------------
English: Blesbok
German: Buntbock
French: Blesbok
Spanish: Blesbok
Longitudinal section
of a guard hair, 1000x
Numerical code for blesbok skin structure
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Surface of the skin: 1-4-1
Fine fur fibres: 1-5-1-1-4-0-0-0-0-10.31-7.18
Intermediate fibres: 4-2.4-1-1.2-1-1-1-14-4-50.71-16.22
Guard hairs: 4-2.4-1-1.2-1-1-1-14-4-70.101-20.27
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