The unusual structure and diverse utilities of the type of proboscis found in organisms belonging to the family Elephantidae (whose living members consist of the African and Asian elephants) afford numerous facets of study both for the sake of greater scientific understanding and for human applications. Each of these functions of elephant trunks has been the subject of detailed study in a variety of publications; therefore, a brief overview of these functions must suffice for this paper. This paper will provide a summary of the basic anatomical structure of elephant trunks, as well as their specific biological and behavioral applications. In addition, this paper will also describe the relevance of elephant trunks to humans in the form of elephant – inspired robotic technologies and the use of elephants to protect civilians from underground explosives.
The Anatomical Structure of an Elephant Trunk …show more content…
Shoshani (2015) reports that the trunk can weigh up to one hundred and thirty kilograms, and it can lift objects that weigh at least twice as much. Despite the impressive length and strength of elephant trunks, these unusual appendages do not contain bones of any kind, and cartilage is limited to only certain small sectors (Somgird n.d.). Instead, elephant trunks consist of a variety of nerves and tissues, including two primary nerves (the proboscidean nerves), sixteen major muscles, and nearly one hundred and fifty thousand muscle fascicles (Shoshani 2015). Two parallel, muscle-enclosed nasal cavities extend from the skull to the end of the trunk. Elephants can adjust the diameter of these passages by constricting or relaxing the surrounding muscles. Air is drawn into the trunk and carried along through these cavities during respiration, and water can be taken into these passages when the animal needs to drink (National Geographic