Guard hair

Beaver (genus Castor)

Description

A long, stiff outer hair that protects the soft, underfur of some mammals. The guard hair is stick out though the underfur and provide the visible coloring for the animal. The guard hairs also may provide waterproofing and protection from cold temperatures.

Authority

• Walter C. McCrone, John Gustave Delly, The Particle Atlas, W. McCrone Associates, Chicago, IV, 1972

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998