August 15, 2023

Vibrissa

Noun

vi·​bris·​sa, vī-ˈbri-sə

1a: any of the stiff hairs that are located on the face and especially about the snout of many mammals and typically serve as tactile organs

also : a similar stiff tactile hair growing elsewhere on some mammals (as in a small tuft at the wrist)

1b: any of the coarse hairs growing within the nostrils of humans that serve to impede the inhalation of particulate matter

2: one of the bristly feathers near the mouth of many and especially insectivorous birds that may help to prevent the escape of insects