Pointy ears

"Pointy ears" is a characteristic of some animals. Some examples are the cat, vampire bats,{{cite book|author=Pamela J. Gerholdt|title=Vampire Bats|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PxO0xc7fMm0C&pg=PA12|year=1996|publisher=ABDO|isbn=978-1-56239-505-6|page=12}} civets and genets of the viverridae family,{{cite book|author=Joseph F. Merritt|title=The Biology of Small Mammals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LF_x_kmDjr4C&pg=PA129|date=4 February 2010|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-7950-0|pages=128–129}} red pandas,{{cite book|title=Concise Encyclopedia Biology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FCXd7VEsdPcC&pg=PA1015|date=1 January 1996|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-088956-7|page=1015}} and African bush pigs.{{cite book|title=Concise Encyclopedia Biology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FCXd7VEsdPcC&pg=PA22|date=1 January 1996|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-088956-7|page=22}}

One of the characteristics of the Williams syndrome has been described as "pointed ears".{{cite book|author1=Mark H. Johnson|author2=Yuko Munakata|author3=Rick O. Gilmore|title=Brain Development and Cognition: A Reader|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1e_h9G4z5QcC&pg=PA384|date=15 April 2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-75202-9|page=384}}{{cite book|author=Scientific American|title=What Makes a Genius?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PrHEeyNQxZEC&pg=PA37|date=1 January 2008|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-4042-1401-9|page=37}} Some cases of pointed ears may be due to trauma to ears during labor, and the ear crease may unfold with time.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}

The pointed ear(s) in Stahl's ear is caused by misshapen cartilage. It is characterized by an extra horizontal fold of cartilage (crus). Normally, there are two: superior and inferior. In Stahl's ear, there is a third horizontal crus. The helix (or upper portion of the ear) may uncurl, giving the ear a pointed shape.{{cite web |title=Stahl's Ear |url=https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/stahl-s-ear |website=chop.edu |publisher=The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia |access-date=29 July 2021 |language=en |date=30 July 2014}}

Author Holly Black and others have worn latex pointy ears in public and some people modify their ears surgically.

Pointy ears have been a characteristic of many creatures in folklore, such as the French croquemitaine, the Brazilian curupira,{{cite book|author=Theresa Bane|title=Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUqpAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA91|date=4 September 2013|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-7111-9|page=91}} and the Japanese earth spider.{{cite book|author=Laurence Bush|title=Asian Horror Encyclopedia: Asian Horror Culture in Literature, Manga, and Folklore|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JvYV8EmdejMC&pg=PA43|date=5 October 2001|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-1-4697-1503-2|page=43}}

Pointy or pointed ears have been a feature of characters on art dating back at least to the times of Ancient Greece{{cite book|author=Johann Joachim Winckelmann|title=The History of Ancient Art Among the Greeks|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zHwEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA80|year=1850|publisher=Chapman|page=80}} and medieval Europe.{{cite book|author=Alixe Bovey|title=Monsters and Grotesques in Medieval Manuscripts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8rytlDZ4xdgC&pg=PA38|year=2002|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-0-8020-8512-2|page=38}}

Pointy ears are a common characteristic of many creatures in the fantasy genre.{{cite book|author=J. Peffer|title=DragonArt Collector's Edition: Your Ultimate Guide to Drawing Fantasy Art|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jcPqm5smoMMC&pg=PA28|date=25 October 2012|publisher=IMPACT|isbn=978-1-4403-2417-8|page=28}} such as elves,{{cite book|author=Michael J. Tresca|title=The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8H8bzqj6S4sC&pg=PA34|date=16 November 2010|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-6009-0|page=34}} faeries,{{cite book|author=John Michael Greer|title=Monsters|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDda4Q27kXYC&pg=PT107|date=1 September 2011|publisher=Llewellyn Worldwide|isbn=978-0-7387-1600-8|page=107}}{{cite book|author=Christopher Hart|title=Astonishing Fantasy Worlds: The Ultimate Guide to Drawing Adventure Fantasy Art|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=geE2AQAAIAAJ|year=2008|publisher=Watson-Guptill Publications|isbn=978-0-8230-1472-9|page=103}} pixies,{{cite book|author=John Hamilton|title=Elves and Fairies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=glzvoVQwqwoC&pg=PA23|date=1 August 2011|publisher=ABDO|isbn=978-1-60453-215-9|page=23}} hobbits,{{cite book|author1=Misha Kavka|author2=Jenny Lawn|author3=Mary Paul|title=Gothic Nz: The Darker Side of Kiwi Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pshlAAAAMAAJ|year=2006|publisher=Otago University Press|isbn=978-1-877372-23-0|page=111}} and orcs,{{cite book|author=Lisa Hopkins|title=Screening the Gothic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4dmGAAAAQBAJ&pg=PT202|date=1 January 2010|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-77959-4|page=202}} among others. They are also a characteristic of creatures from the horror genre, such as vampires.{{cite book|author=Noah William Isenberg|title=Weimar Cinema: An Essential Guide to Classic Films of the Era|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A9vbWimrmcEC&pg=PT96|date=13 August 2013|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-50385-3|pages=96–}}{{cite book|author=Ken Gelder|title=The Horror Reader|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=upGM6haNBR8C&pg=PA27|year=2000|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-415-21356-1|page=27}}

This characteristic has been adopted into the Japanese anime and manga art style, where pointy ears are also a common trope of fantasy characters.{{cite book|author=Ikari Studio|title=The Monster Book of More Manga|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5tA2AQAAIAAJ|date=28 March 2007|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-115169-9|page=19}}{{cite book|author1=Anna Southgate|author2=Keith Sparrow|title=Drawing Manga Expressions and Poses|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iFA6g0BOjIcC&pg=PA17|date=August 2011|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-4488-4800-3|page=17}} Manga and anime elves in particular are distinguished by very prominently displayed pointed ears, often drawn larger and more distinctly visible, as well as more angled, than in the Western works.{{cite book|author=David Okum|title=Manga Fantasy Madness: Over 50 Basic Lessons for Drawing Warriors, Wizards, Monsters and more|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_4aPjotgxJcC&pg=PA31|date=21 April 2006|publisher=IMPACT|isbn=1-60061-381-0|page=31}}{{cite book|author=David Okum|title=Manga Monster Madness|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ga3y7Dms2w0C&pg=PA34|date=15 March 2005|publisher=IMPACT|isbn=1-60061-387-X|page=34}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Pointy ears have become associated with elves in Victorian literature of the 19th century.{{cite book|author=Sirona Knight|title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Elves and Fairies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7m5s8HmpSp8C&pg=PT171|date=7 June 2005|publisher=DK Publishing|isbn=978-1-4406-9638-1|page=171}} Popularization of the pointed ears as an attribute of elves has been attributed to the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and their more recent big screen interpretation, although the status of elvish ears as canon is not universally accepted by the Tolkien fandom.{{cite web |last=Martinez |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Martinez (Tolkien scholar) |url=http://middle-earth.xenite.org/2011/09/21/do-tolkiens-elves-have-pointy-ears/ |title=Do Tolkien's Elves Have Pointy Ears? | Middle-earth & J.R.R. Tolkien Blog by Michael Martinez |publisher=Middle-earth.xenite.org |date=2011-09-21 |accessdate=2014-04-18}}{{cite web|author=F.A.Q. |url=http://www.tolkiensociety.org/the-author/faq/#ears |title=F.A.Q. |publisher=The Tolkien Society |date= |accessdate=2014-04-18}}{{cite book|author1=Janice M. Bogstad|author2=Philip E. Kaveny|title=Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jNjKrXRP0G8C&pg=PA86|date=9 August 2011|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-8473-7|page=86}}

Pointy ears are often found in the science fiction genre, as well, such as among the Vulcan and Romulan races of the Star Trek universe,{{cite book|author1=Henry Jenkins III|author2=Tara McPherson|author3=Jane Shattuc|title=Hop on Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZZSz3ThOv9gC&pg=PA119|date=2 January 2003|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=0-8223-8350-0|page=119}} or the Nightcrawler character from the X-Men universe.{{cite book|author1=William Irwin|author2=Rebecca Housel|author3=J. Jeremy Wisnewski|title=X-Men and Philosophy: Astonishing Insight and Uncanny Argument in the Mutant X-Verse|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bK-ax5Ttj3wC&pg=PA189|date=18 May 2009|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-73036-2|page=189}}

• Elves in fantasy fiction and games
• Fantasy tropes and conventions
• Donohue syndrome

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{{commons category|Pointy ears}}

Category:Ear

Category:Fantasy tropes