Real animals with both fur and scales? http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998 Xenocrates 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? Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:44:34 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1123245 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1123245 Bicicletta 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. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:57:11 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1123294 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1123294 Bicicletta 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. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:00:36 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1123309 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1123309 aliaswriter A platypus? Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:21:05 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1123793 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1123793 douleur Platypuses have duck-like bills and webbed feet with venomous claws, but scales are not something they have. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:48:04 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1128014 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1128014 The_Halla 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. Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:59:57 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1128466 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1128466 beanza3 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 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:34:49 +0000 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1128659 http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/reference-desk/threads/49998?page=1#forum_thread_comment_1128659