As the title suggests, my question is this: Are there any real-world creatures with both fur and scales? I can't think of any, but I'm hardly an expert, either.
A few secondary questions: If not, would you accept the presence of such a creature in a world that otherwise has followed evolution very similar to that of our own world? How might such a creature come to evolve?
Well, not true reptilian scales, but have you looked at armadillos and pangolins? They're both mammals with scaly hides, and armadillos have fur on their undersides; I don't know about pangolins. The "scales" on a pangolin are keratin, like our fingernails and hair, and armadillos have tough, armored, textured hides that look like scales from a distance.
I forgot to answer your follow-up questions: Look, in this world both armadillos and pangolins are absolutely real! A creature with real scales and fur wouldn't seem strange at all, here or elsewhere. As to how and why it would evolve - why do my examples look the way they do? For protection; they're both slow-moving animals in hostile environments.
Scales and fur are both derivatives of follicles. In scaled vertebrates (in this case, reptiles), the follicles compress; in hairy vertebrates (mammals), the follicles grow inward. These habits are determined by just one or two genes; getting both to happen in one organism in some sort of "deliberate" way is just about impossible (you could conceivably create a chimera, though).
The scales of pangolins and armadillos are actually compressed tufts of hair (as are hedgehog spines and whale baleen), and so aren't "true" scales. If "scale-like" is good enough for you, then pick one of those two.
You could also do scales and feathers. Feathers are modified scales, and most birds have scales on their feet. The feathers could be like down... Another option. :D
Real animals with both fur and scales?
As the title suggests, my question is this: Are there any real-world creatures with both fur and scales? I can't think of any, but I'm hardly an expert, either.
A few secondary questions: If not, would you accept the presence of such a creature in a world that otherwise has followed evolution very similar to that of our own world? How might such a creature come to evolve?
Re: Real animals with both fur and scales?
Well, not true reptilian scales, but have you looked at armadillos and pangolins? They're both mammals with scaly hides, and armadillos have fur on their undersides; I don't know about pangolins. The "scales" on a pangolin are keratin, like our fingernails and hair, and armadillos have tough, armored, textured hides that look like scales from a distance.
Re: Real animals with both fur and scales?
I forgot to answer your follow-up questions: Look, in this world both armadillos and pangolins are absolutely real! A creature with real scales and fur wouldn't seem strange at all, here or elsewhere. As to how and why it would evolve - why do my examples look the way they do? For protection; they're both slow-moving animals in hostile environments.
Re: Real animals with both fur and scales?
A platypus?
Re: Real animals with both fur and scales?
Platypuses have duck-like bills and webbed feet with venomous claws, but scales are not something they have.
Re: Real animals with both fur and scales?
Scales and fur are both derivatives of follicles. In scaled vertebrates (in this case, reptiles), the follicles compress; in hairy vertebrates (mammals), the follicles grow inward. These habits are determined by just one or two genes; getting both to happen in one organism in some sort of "deliberate" way is just about impossible (you could conceivably create a chimera, though).
The scales of pangolins and armadillos are actually compressed tufts of hair (as are hedgehog spines and whale baleen), and so aren't "true" scales. If "scale-like" is good enough for you, then pick one of those two.
Re: Real animals with both fur and scales?
You could also do scales and feathers. Feathers are modified scales, and most birds have scales on their feet. The feathers could be like down... Another option. :D