Behavior and innervation suggest a high tactile sensitivity of elephant trunks. To clarify the tactile trunk periphery we studied whiskers with the following findings. Whisker density is high at the trunk tip and African savanna elephants have more trunk tip whiskers than Asian elephants. Adult elephants show striking lateralized whisker abrasion caused by lateralized trunk behavior. Elephant whiskers are thick and show little tapering. Whisker follicles are large, lack a ring sinus and their organization varies across the trunk. Follicles are innervated by ~90 axons from multiple nerves. Because elephants don’t whisk, trunk movements determine whisker contacts. Whisker-arrays on the ventral trunk-ridge contact objects balanced on the ventral trunk. Trunk whiskers differ from the mobile, thin and tapered facial whiskers that sample peri-rostrum space symmetrically in many mammals. We suggest their distinctive features—being thick, non-tapered, lateralized and arranged in specific high-density arrays—evolved along with the manipulative capacities of the trunk.

行为和神经支配表明象鼻具有高度的触觉敏感性。为了阐明触觉躯干外围，我们研究了胡须，得出以下结果。象鼻尖的胡须密度很高，非洲草原象的象鼻尖胡须比亚洲象更多。成年大象表现出由侧向躯干行为引起的显着的侧向胡须磨损。大象的胡须很粗，而且逐渐变细。晶须毛囊很大，缺乏环形窦，并且它们的组织在整个躯干上各不相同。毛囊由来自多个神经的约 90 个轴突支配。因为大象不会拂动，所以鼻子的运动决定了胡须的接触。腹侧躯干上的晶须阵列接触平衡在腹侧躯干上的物体。躯干胡须不同于许多哺乳动物的可移动、细长且锥形的面部胡须，面部胡须对称地分布在喙周围空间。我们认为，它们的独特特征——厚实、非锥形、侧向并以特定的高密度阵列排列——是随着躯干的操纵能力而进化的。