April 13, 2021
Ossicones are columnar or conical skin-covered bone structures on the heads of giraffe and okapi (
Fig 1). Giraffe ossicones consist of a bone core covered with skin and attached to the skull with connective tissue. The bone, skin, and connective tissue of ossicones are all living growing tissues with blood vessels and nerves. All male and female giraffes have a pair of ossicones on the parietal bones of the skull. Males also usually have a single ossicone on the frontal bone. At around the age of sexual maturity, ossicones fuse with the underlying skull bone and growth continues as bone is added to the ossicone surface beneath the skin. Ossicones play a role in giraffe sexual behavior and may also be used for temperature regulation. Male–male combat over access to reproductive females usually consists of giraffes using their head as a club to deliver blows from ossicones to the body and legs of their opponent. The nerve bundles and large blood supply in the ossico