Pointy ears

Pointy ears or pointed ears are a characteristic of numerous animals, at least one genetic disorder in humans, as well as a popular cliché in popular culture, particularly in the fantasy genre.

Pointy ears is a characteristic of some animals, for example the cat, the vampire bats,civets and genets of the viverridae family,red pandas and African bush pigs.

One of the characteristics of the Williams syndrome has been described as "pointed ears".

Pointy ears have been a characteristic of some creatures in folklore such as French croquemitaine, Brazilian curupira or Japanese earth spider. It has been a feature of characters on art as old as that of Ancient Greece and medieval Europe.

Pointy ears are common characteristic of many creatures in the fantasy genre. It's a common characteristics of races such as, among others, elves,faeries,pixies,hobbits, or orcs. They are also a characteristic of creatures from the horror genre, such as vampires.

This characteristic has been adopted into the Japanese anime and manga art style, where pointy ears are also a common trope of fantasy characters. Manga and anime elves in particular are distinguished by very prominently displayed pointed ears, often drawn larger and more distinctly visible than in the Western works.

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