Why Do Animals Have Tails?

What is the purpose of tails in animal?

Animal tails are fascinating and vital Animal tales often occupy this space. As the year comes to an end, thoughts of animal ends also come to mind — their tails. So, here’s a tale of tails. Animal tails are fascinating appendages that come in a variety of forms and serve a variety of functions.

Why do animals have tails but not humans?

A new study suggests that an ancient genetic change helps to explain why apes and people do not have tails, but monkeys still do. A team of scientists says it may have pinpointed the genetic mutation that contributed to tail loss. When the scientists made this genetic tweak in mice, some of the animals didn’t grow tails, according to a study that was posted on a preprint server last week.

Researchers over time have identified more than 30 genes involved in the development of tails in various species. Scientists are still learning how their unique activity at the end of an embryo gives rise to a tail. The authors of the new study reasoned that our ancestors lost their tails when mutations altered one or more of these genes.

To search for those mutations, scientists compared the DNA of six species of tail-less apes to nine species of tailed monkeys. Eventually, they discovered a mutation shared by apes and humans—but missing in monkeys—in a gene called TBXT. “This question—where’s my tail?—has been in my head since I was a kid,” says corresponding study author Bo Xia, a graduate student in stem cell biology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

Do animals know they have tails?

Are Cats and Dogs Aware That Their Tails Are Attached to Them? – Sometimes when I watch my dog chase his tail, I wonder if it hurts! After all, chomping down on a hand or leg doesn’t exactly sound pleasant for us humans. Fortunately, our pets are more cognizant than I thought.

Can animals live without tails?

Most vertebrates, that is, animals with a backbone, have an obvious tail. Other major animal groups are tailless creatures. Snails, oysters and sand dollars come to mind. Many insects have tails, although the anatomical origin is not an extension of the spine.

Why did humans lose their tails?

A monkey flying through the air. Credit: Geraint Rowland Photography / Getty Images Some 25 million years ago, a small, chance mutation dramatically altered the course of primate history. And it’s a major reason you don’t have a long muscular appendage protruding from your lower back.

(Alas, a small injury-prone tailbone remains,) In fascinating new research recently published online, researchers identified an ancient change to a primate gene that ultimately led to the loss of tails in apes like gorillas, chimpanzees, and humans. Most monkeys, with their impressive serpentine tails, don’t have this mutation.

“There’s compelling evidence that a single change enabled this,” said Itai Yanai, the director of the Institute for Computational Medicine at New York University and an author of the research. The discovery, of course, also helps appease a popular childhood question (and, perhaps, a continuing quandary for many inquisitive adults).

It’s a question that’s been in my head since I was a little kid: Why don’t I have a tail? ” said Bo Xia, the Ph.D. candidate at NYU Grossman School of Medicine who actually made the discovery. (Xia injured his tailbone a couple of years ago, which renewed his interest in his long-lost tail.) The mutation didn’t happen in a conspicuous place in the primate genome.

“This was a small thing that was unique to tailless apes,” explained Hopi Hoekstra, a professor of zoology at Harvard University who studies genetic changes and adaptations in vertebrates. Hoekstra had no role in the research By comparing the genomes of tailed primates versus those without tails, Xia spotted that humans and apes (but not monkeys) had a unique stretch of DNA inserted into the TBXT gene, which carries genetic instructions for tail formation.

1. It’s the beautiful simplicity of comparing genomes of primates with tails and tailless primates” said Hoekstra.
2. They found a mutation that knocks out part of this gene that produced this trait of interest.” A type of gene called a “jumping gene” — that can jump around and insert itself randomly into other places in the genome — inserted itself, forming this mutation, the authors explained.

Ultimately, this insertion resulted in a new pattern of expression of the TBXT gene that coded for no tail, or a smaller tail. Orangutans, like humans, don’t have tails. Credit: CHONG JIUN YIH / GETTY IMAGES To bolster their findings, Xia and his team experimented on laboratory mice (which share many, but not nearly all, genes in common with humans). They genetically engineered mice so the animals would have the same TBXT gene expression pattern as people.

This resulted in many mice with no tails, short tails, or kinked tails. In contrast, mice that weren’t genetically altered had normal tails. In sum, this adds up to strong evidence that this single gene mutation played a significant role in the loss of tails in primates. (Though other genes likely play somewhat of a role, too, noted Xia, as the mice had differing tail lengths).

“The authors provide a compelling list of evidence that they found the mechanism by which primates lost tails,” said Charles Fenster, a biologist at South Dakota State University who researches evolution. Fenster had no involvement with the research. And once this mutation started circulating in a primate population, evolution did its work: Millions of years later, our tails are almost completely gone, save the tailbone.

When did humans lose their tails?

How Humans Lost Their Tails (Published 2021) A new study suggests that a single genetic mutation helps explain why monkeys have tails, while apes and people do not. A team of scientists say they have pinpointed the genetic mutation that may have erased our tails 20 million years ago. Credit. Ted Kinsman/Science Source Published Sept.21, 2021 Updated Sept.22, 2021 For half a billion years or so, our ancestors sprouted tails.

As fish, they used their tails to through the Cambrian seas. Much later, when they evolved into primates, their tails helped them stay balanced as they raced from branch to branch through Eocene jungles. But then, roughly 25 million years ago, the tails disappeared. Charles Darwin first recognized this change in our ancient anatomy.

But how and why it happened has remained a mystery. Now a team of scientists in New York say they have pinpointed the genetic mutation that may have erased our tails. When the scientists made this genetic tweak in mice, the animals didn’t grow tails, according to a that was posted online last week.

This dramatic anatomical change had a profound impact on our evolution. Our ancestors’ tail muscles evolved into a hammock-like mesh across the pelvis. When the ancestors of humans stood up and walked on two legs a few million years ago, that muscular hammock was ready to support the weight of upright organs.

Although it’s impossible to definitively prove that this mutation lopped off our ancestors’ tails, “it’s as close to a smoking gun as one could hope for,” said Cedric Feschotte, a geneticist at Cornell who was not involved in the study. Darwin shocked his Victorian audiences by claiming that we descended from primates with tails.

• He noted that while humans and apes lack a visible tail, they share a tiny set of vertebrae that extend beyond the pelvis — a structure known as the coccyx.
• I cannot doubt that it is a rudimentary tail,” he,
• Since then, paleoanthropologists have found fossils that shed some light on this transformation.

The oldest known primates, dating back 66 million years, had full-fledged tails that they likely used to keep their balance in trees. Today most living primates, such as lemurs and almost all monkeys, still have tails. But when apes appeared in the fossil record, about 20 million years ago, they had no tail at all.

This question — where’s my tail? — has been in my head since I was a kid,” said Bo Xia, a graduate student in stem cell biology at N.Y.U. Grossman School of Medicine. A bad Uber ride in 2019, in which Mr. Xia injured his coccyx, brought it back to his mind with fresh urgency. “It took me a year to recover, and that really stimulated me to think about the tailbone,” he said.

To understand how apes and humans lost their tail, Mr. Xia looked at how the tail forms in other animals. In the early stages of an embryo’s development, a set of master genes switch on, orchestrating different parts of the spine to develop distinctive identities, such as the neck and the lumbar region.

At the far end of the embryo, a tail bud emerges, inside of which a special chain of vertebrae, muscles and nerves develop. Most living primates, such as lemurs and almost all monkeys, including the Geoffroy’s spider monkey, pictured, still have tails. Credit. Nick Fox/Alamy Researchers have identified more than 30 genes involved in the development of tails in various species, from an iguana’s long whip to the stub on a Manx cat.

All of these genes are active in other parts of the developing embryo as well. Scientists are still learning how their unique activity at the end of an embryo gives rise to a tail. Mr. Xia reasoned that our ancestors lost their tail when mutations altered one or more of these genes.

To search for those mutations, he compared the DNA of six species of tail-less apes to nine species of tailed monkeys. Eventually, he discovered a mutation shared by apes and humans — but missing in monkeys — in a gene called TBXT. TBXT was one of the first genes uncovered by scientists nearly a century ago.

At the time, many researchers searched for genes by zapping animals, plants or microbes with X-rays, hoping that mutations would create a visible change. In 1923, the Russian geneticist Nadezhda Dobrovolskaya-Zavadskaya X-rayed male mice and then allowed them to breed.

She found that a few of them gained a mutation that caused some of their descendants to grow kinked or shortened tails. Subsequent experiments revealed that the mutation was on the TBXT gene. The mutation that Mr. Xia discovered had not been observed before. It consisted of 300 genetic letters in the middle of the TBXT gene.

This stretch of DNA was virtually identical in humans and apes, and was inserted in precisely the same place in their genomes. Mr. Xia brought the finding to his supervisors, Itai Yanai and Jef Boeke, to see what they thought. “I nearly fell off my chair, because it is just a stunning result,” Dr.

1. Yanai recalled.
2. To test the idea that the mutation was involved in the disappearance of our tail, Mr.
3. Xia and his colleagues genetically engineered mice with the TBXT mutation that is carried by humans.
4. When these embryos developed, many of the animals failed to develop a tail.
5. Others only grew a short one.

Mr. Xia and his colleagues propose that this mutation randomly struck an ape some 20 million years ago, causing it to grow just a stump of a tail, or none at all. Yet the tail-less animal survived and even thrived, passing on the mutation to its offspring.

Eventually, the mutant form of TBXT became the norm in living apes and humans. The scientists said that the TBXT mutation is not the sole reason that we grow a coccyx instead of a tail. While the mice in their experiments produced a range of altered tails, our coccyx is almost always identical from person to person.

There must be other genes that mutated later, helping to produce a uniform anatomy. Even if geneticists are beginning to explain how our tail disappeared, the question of why still baffles scientists. The first apes were bigger than monkeys, and their increased size would have made it easier for them to fall off branches, and more likely for those falls to be fatal.

1. It’s hard to explain why apes without tails to help them balance wouldn’t have suffered a significant evolutionary disadvantage.
2. And losing a tail could have brought other dangers, too. Mr.
3. Xia and his colleagues found that the TBXT mutation doesn’t just shorten tails but also sometimes causes spinal cord defects.

And yet, somehow, losing a tail proved a major evolutionary advantage. “It’s very confusing why they lost their tail,” said Gabrielle Russo, an evolutionary morphologist at Stony Brook University in New York who was not involved in the study. “That’s the next outstanding question: What on earth would the advantage be?” : How Humans Lost Their Tails (Published 2021)

Were humans meant to have tails?

What Is a Human Tail? When a human grows a tail, it’s known as a human tail or vestigial tail. Many believe that human ancestors had and used some form of a tail. Over time as a species, however, we evolved past the need for such an organ, which is why the majority of humans no longer grow them.

Most humans grow a tail in the womb, which disappears by eight weeks. The embryonic tail usually grows into the coccyx or the tailbone. The tailbone is a bone located at the end of the spine, below the sacrum. Sometimes, however, the embryonic tail doesn’t disappear and the baby is born with it. This is a true human tail.

Growing a true human tail is extremely rare. Sometimes, when babies are born, their parents might think they have a true tail when actually they don’t. This is called a pseudotail. Pseudotails are usually a symptom of an irregular coccyx or of as opposed to a remnant of the embryonic tail from the womb.

To be clear, true human tails are exceedingly rare. They are often referred to as archaic or even as “oddities” because of their rarity. They are also found twice as often in males as they are in females and are not found to be passed down within families. It’s a commonly held belief that the origins of the human tail lie in the ancestors of humans.

Scientists believe that humans eventually adapted out of needing tails and so no longer grow them. Some scientists, however, have recently speculated that vestigial tails are linked with abnormalities in the spinal cord and column. Specifically, these scientists see vestigial tails as a part of spinal dysraphism or of a tethered spinal cord.

They contain muscles, connective tissue, blood vessels, and nervesThey are always covered with skin and located on the tailbone They can be as long as 13 centimeters Sometimes, they can even move or contract

Human tails do not contain bone, cartilage, or the spinal cord. Qualified doctors can surgically remove a human tail in a very safe and simple procedure. During this surgery, the surgeon untethers the outer part of the tail. Because human tails are generally also linked to spinal issues, surgeons are always very careful to perform extensive presurgery tests and to not damage the area further.

• While it is unnecessary to remove human tails for any specific health-related reason, they are often uncomfortable, painful, or otherwise inconvenient to have.
• Across the developing world, there have been cases of patients as old as 17 years of age revealing their human tails to doctors for the first time because the tails have eventually begun to cause them pain.

Some people born with tails keep their tails for many years, while some parents opt to remove their baby’s tail at birth. In some cases, it’s not entirely apparent that the tail is a true tail until years later. In some parts of the world, human tails are largely stigmatized and babies born with human tails are considered to be pariahs.

Can animals feel their tails?

Science Behind a Dog’s Tail – A dog’s tail is the caudal terminal appendage of the vertebral column that continues out from the main part of their body. It is located at the base of the backbone on your dog. The tail is made up of anywhere from 6 to 23 different moveable vertebrae and they have a very large range of movement.

• The vertebrae are surrounded by a musculature that makes it possible for your dog to move their tail in very specific ways like holding their tail up, wagging it from side to side, tucking it between their legs, etc.
• The tail is also filled with nerves and tendons that allow your dog to feel their tail.

If you have ever accidentally stepped on your dog’s tail, they will cry out and wince in pain because their tails have nerves and this will give them the sensation of pain if it is hurt of injured.

Do humans with tails exist?

Spectrum of human tails: A report of six cases Department of Pediatric Surgery, N R S Medical College, Kolkata, India Find articles by 1 Department of Pathology, Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, West Bengal, India Find articles by Department of Pediatric Surgery, N R S Medical College, Kolkata, India Find articles by Department of Pediatric Surgery, N R S Medical College, Kolkata, India Find articles by Department of Pediatric Surgery, N R S Medical College, Kolkata, India Find articles by : © Journal of Indian Association of Pediatric Surgeons This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

1. Human tail is a curiosity, a cosmetic stigma and presents as an appendage in the lumbosacral region.
2. Six patients of tail in the lumbosacral region are presented here to discuss the spectrum of presentation of human tails.
3. The embryology, pathology and treatment of this entity are discussed along with a brief review of the literature.

KEY WORDS: Human tail, lipomyelomeningocele, sacrococcygeal teratoma, spina bifida Human tails are a rare entity. The birth of a baby with a tail can cause tremendous psychological disturbance to the parents. They are usually classified as true and pseudo tails.

Tails are usually associated with occult spinal dysraphism. Isolated case reports of various types of human tails have been described in the literature. We are presenting our experience of six cases of tails in infants. The age range of patients varied from 3 days to 2 years. The male to female ratio was 2:1.

The family history was not significant in any of the patients. The antenatal history of the mothers was normal. There was no movement or contraction of tails in our patients. The main features and imaging findings of six patients have been summarised in,

The plain radiographs showed spina bifida in three patients at L 5 and S 1. Other than patient number 5 (lumbar lipomeningomyelocele), all other patients underwent surgical excision. An elliptical incision was made encircling the base of the appendage. No connection with the spine was seen. The patient with meningocele had formal repair of the meningocele.

A complete excision of the sacrococcygeal teratoma was done. The postoperative result was excellent. The parents of patient number 5 refused to give consent for the operation and the patient was lost to follow-up. On histopathological examination, the specimen of sacrococcygeal teratoma showed mature tissues that included bones, cartilage, fat and neural tissues, whereas other tails showed mature adipose tissue, blood vessels and nerves.

A “vestigial tail” describes a remnant of a structure found in embryonic life or in ancestral forms. During the 5 th to 6 th week of intrauterine life, the human embryo has a tail with 10–12 vertebrae. By 8 weeks, the human tail disappears. The persistent tail probably arises from the distal nonvertebrate remnant of the embryonic tail.

True human tail arises from the most distal remnant of the embryonic tail. It contains adipose tissue, connective tissue, central bundles of striated muscle, blood vessels and nerves and is covered by skin. Bone, cartilage, notochord and spinal cord are lacking.

It can move and contract and occurs twice as often in males as in females. None of our patients showed any movement of the tail. Unlike the tail of other vertebrates, human tails do not contain vertebral structures. Only one case has been reported with vertebra in human tail. A true tail is easily removed surgically, without residual effects.

It is rarely familial. Pseudo tails have got superficial resemblance to true tails. They are anomalous prolongation of the coccygeal vertebrae. The additional lesions found with pseudo tails are lipomas, teratomas, chondromegaly and gliomas, and there may be elongated parasitic fetus.

1. Human tail usually occurs in the lumbosacral region, but it has also been reported in the cervical region.
2. Teratoma in the human tail has also been reported.
3. In a review series of 48 skin-covered lumbosacral masses, 25% had lumbosacral and sacrococcygeal teratomas.
4. In our series, we had only one patient with tail in sacrococcygeal teratoma.

The preoperative assessment includes a complete clinical examination including neurology, plain radiographs of the spine and computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. An occult spinal lesion has been reported in around 50% of the cases. In another review by Lu, 20% of the cases are associated with either meningocele or spina bifida occulta.

Other than the patient of lipomyelomeningocele, none of our patients showed intraspinal lesion. Tail in the midline of lumbar region Tail in the midline of lumbar region Tail in the midline of lumbar region Source of Support: Nil Conflict of Interest: None declared.1. Dao AH, Netsky MG. Human tails and pseudo tails.

Hum Pathol.1984; 15 :449–53.2. Singh DK, Kumar B, Sinha VD, Bagaria HR. The human tail: A rare lesion with a occult spinal dysraphism- A case report. J Pediatr Surg.2008; 43 :E41–3.3. Chakrabortty S, Oi S, Yoshida Y, Yamada H, Yamaguchi M, Tamaki N, et al.

• Myelomeningocele and thick filum terminale with tethered cord appearing as a human tail.
• J Neurosurg.1993; 78 :966–9.4.
• Belzberg AJ, Myles ST, Trevner CL.
• The human tail and spinal dysraphism.
• J Pediatr Surg.1991; 26 :1243–5.5.
• Zimmer EZ, Bronshtein M.
• Early sonographic findings suggestive of human fetal tail.

Prenat Diagn.1996; 16 :360–2.6. Kabra NS, Srinivasan G, Udani RH. True tail in a neonate. Indian Pediatr.1999; 36 :712–3.7. Mohindra S. The ‘human tail’ causing tethered cervical cord. Spinal Cord.2007; 45 :583–5.8. Park SH, Huh JS, Cho KH, Shin YS, Kim SH, Ahn YH, et al.

Do animals like their tails touched?

Home The Daily Wag! Behavior Why Dogs Don’t Like Their Tails Touched

Everyone loves to pet their dog, and it is no secret that your dog enjoys it too. If you’ve been playing with your dog since it was a puppy, then you probably already know that your dog prefers to be touched in some areas, and not touched at all in others.

The tail, for example, is one area that dogs almost always prefer that you stay away from. While you might think that touching or grabbing onto your dog’s tail is a fun way to play, your dog would sorely disagree with you. Grabbing a dog’s tail—something that children are particularly tempted to do—can be very painful and terrifying for your dog.

To help you avoid accidentally hurting or scaring your best friend, here are some reasons why your dog prefers to keep its tail to itself. Tails come in all shapes and sizes, but regardless of the type of tail your dog has, it plays an extremely important role in how your dog interacts with the world around it.

A dog’s tail is comprised of up to 23 vertebrae, which are all surrounded by a system of highly active muscles. This is how a dog’s tail is able to move so fluidly, and take on so many different positions. Every dog learns to make good use of its tail, which is important, as it is a dog’s most important tool in both communication and motor functioning.

Picture a dog happily wagging its tail. As you can see, the tail plays a critical role in communicating what the dog is thinking and feeling. In this case, it is happiness. The position of the tail can provide insight into whether a dog is happy, curious, afraid, angry, or sad.

Typically, dog emotions are also accompanied by some form of movement in the tail, and this combination of position and movement provides a complex means of communicating a dog’s feelings to the rest of the world. This communication remains apparent even if a dog has had its tail clipped, or has a naturally short and stubby tail.

There are some dogs that have no tail, but the instincts to wag, lower, or straighten out the tail remain. The movements of the tail also have a functional purpose for different types of dogs. Various maneuvers such as climbing, jumping, and following narrow paths require the use of the tail as a counterbalance.

1. Watch closely as your dog runs at top speed and makes a turn; you may notice your dog using its tail to assist in making fast turns.
2. In this sense, the tail is a physical instrument that could change the way a dog interacts with the surrounding world if altered or damaged.
3. While humans do not have a direct means of comparison, you can imagine that interfering with this critical body part might feel like someone had suddenly taken away your ability to speak, tied up your hands, and painfully grabbed onto a section of your spine.

It is easy to see why a dog may not like that feeling. Need advice about your pet’s health? Get answers fast from a veterinary professional 24/7 in the Wag! App. Get Vet Chat Don’t be offended if your dog shies away from you or expresses that it does not want to continue playing after you try to touch or grab its tail.

1. Your dog may simply be feeling scared, disturbed, or confused.
2. If someone else grabs your dog’s tail, make sure that your dog does not display signs of severe pain or injury.
3. Accidently touching or grabbing the tail may be inevitable, but after you have done it once, you will know to what extent your dog is comfortable with having its tail touched.

In general, it is good practice to avoid touching your dog’s tail, unless you suspect injury or need to check the areas surrounding a dog’s tail. If your dog routinely gets its tail dirty, or you find yourself in a situation where you are required to care for your dog’s tail, you may need to teach your dog to accept being handled along the tail.

• Dog trainers typically do teach owners how to handle their dog’s tail, and if this is something that you are considering, be sure to do it with the utmost care.
• Allow your dog to become familiar with the practice slowly, and give them plenty of time to adjust to what may be a difficult situation for them to accept.

It is entirely normal for a dog to resist having its tail touched and held, and it is up to you to respect and navigate that relationship with your dog.

Do animals like it when you touch their tail?

Head, Shoulders, Cheeks and Nose – So, in which places do cats like to be petted? The head, chin and neck are often their favorites. While some cats enjoy having their tails touched, others will recoil and even experience pain from a tail stroke. Take it slowly, paying close attention to your cat’s reactions to your touch and always respecting their preferences.

1. When approaching your kitty, the most important trick is to allow them to take the lead.
2. Let your cat sniff your index finger and touch their nose against it first.
3. If they want to cuddle, they’ll push their face against your hand and direct you to their ears, chin or wherever they want to be petted.
4. Going slowly will create a more relaxed, warmhearted environment.

If they start nudging you with their head or rubbing their cheeks against your body, it’s a good sign, says The Spruce Pets, “Bunting” behavior is how cats transfer the scents in their cheek glands to beloved surroundings and family members. In addition to being petted, do cats like to be held? Sometimes.

1. Most cats love to snuggle, and they’re typically responsive to being held if you introduce them to it gradually.
2. The best way to approach your cat for a hug is to start with a few soft pets, then carefully pick them up.
3. Be sure to secure all four of their legs so that they don’t dangle.
4. If they feel safe in your arms, they’ll be more inclined to stay there.

If they squirm and want to get away, set them down gently and try again later. Learning to snuggle takes baby steps (and occasionally a tasty reward for not mauling your arms on the way down).

Can animals feel pain in their tail?

Do dogs feel pain in their tail? – That’s because the tail DOES have pain receptors, but they do not react the same when relaxed as when excited. By the way, because a dog does not feel pain does not mean they cannot do damage. Many a dog has damaged their tail, split is open, or done other things to it while wagging the tail.

What would happen if humans still had tails?

What would life be like if humans had tails? (Image credit: Cavan Images via Getty Images) From mermaids to the ancient Babylonian scorpion people, stories of humans with tails abound in mythologies from around the world. Often, these figures possess some sort of magic power or wisdom beyond mortal understanding.

But what would it be like if humans actually had tails? How would the extra appendage change our daily lives? And what would they look like? For some people, this is more than a thought experiment; in rare instances, babies with spina bifida — a condition in which a baby is born with a gap in the spine — or an irregular coccyx might be born with a vestigial “pseudotail.” These fleshy outgrowths often contain muscle, connective tissue and blood vessels, but not bone or cartilage, according to research published in the journal Human Pathology,

They are not functional and are usually removed shortly after birth. Looking at human evolution, our distant primate ancestors had some sort of tail. Tails disappeared in our direct lineage around 25 million years ago, when great apes diverged from monkeys. Long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) grooming in a rainforest, Sabah, Borneo. (Image credit: Whitworth Images via Getty Images) Certain species of monkeys native to South and Central America (dubbed “New World” monkeys, a phrase coined by European colonizers and later picked up by scientists) have prehensile tails — tails that can grasp objects — that can curl around tree limbs and even support their body weight, according to Field Projects International, a nonprofit research and educational group.

• But our closest living tailed relatives are the so-called “Old World” monkeys that live in Africa, Asia and southern Europe, such as baboons and macaques, which use their tails mostly for balance.
• None of them has a prehensile tail, because that’s a step back down in the family tree,” Peter Kappeler, an evolutionary anthropologist at Göttingen University in Germany, told Live Science.

So our tails probably wouldn’t be prehensile. However, Kappeler said, that doesn’t necessarily mean they would be useless. A long, furry tail like a macaque’s could be useful to wrap around ourselves for warmth, like a built-in scarf. And if we had evolved to hibernate during the winter, our tails could come in handy as a fat-storage system (a strategy employed by some non-primate mammals, such as beavers).

Looking beyond our primate relatives, “there are other tailed bipeds that we model ourselves after,” Jonathan Marks, an anthropologist at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, told Live Science. For example, kangaroos sport a robust tail that they use like a tripod, which helps to support their weight and adds power to their bounding stride.

Extinct theropod dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex, had stiff, muscular tails that may have acted like a rudder when they ran, However, having a tail like one of these creatures would alter our stride. For example, a T. rex -style tail would force us to lean forward at the hips, holding our chests parallel to the ground rather than upright.

A kangaroo tail would be hard to maneuver without hopping — otherwise it would drag annoyingly on the ground. “It’s a very different mode of locomotion,” Marks said. And, Marks noted, it could be difficult to avoid inadvertently hurting our tails while going about our daily lives. As any cat owner knows, long tails are prone to being stepped on or accidentally shut in doors.

Meanwhile, short tails could make it hard to sit in a chair without some modifications. “Clearly, if we had tails, we would need to redesign carseats and bathing suits,” Marks said. Given the human impulse to adorn ourselves, tails could (and likely would) open up a host of new fashion possibilities.

The oldest pieces of jewelry date back 100,000 years, Michelle Langley, an archaeologist at Griffith University in Australia, wrote in The Conversation, It’s easy to imagine our ancestors developing accessories like tail rings, tail warmers, or even tail hairnets alongside baubles like necklaces and earrings.

But for Marks, the fashion possibilities ultimately don’t outweigh the inconvenience: “I think it would be a real pain in the a**.” Stay up to date on the latest science news by signing up for our Essentials newsletter. Joanna Thompson is a science journalist and runner based in New York.

What happens if you grab an animals tail?

What are some common tail injuries, and what should I do about them? – Here is a list of the most common canine tail injuries and how they should be handled. Abrasions. Simple scrapes can occur as dogs wag their tails against an abrasive surface (concrete steps, wire fencing) or catch their tails under something (rocking chair).

If the hair is rubbed off and red skin exposed, clean the area with mild soap and warm water. Apply antibiotic ointment and bandage the tail lightly with self-adhering wrap instead of adhesive tape. To avoid restricting blood flow, do not wrap the bandage too tightly. Change the bandage and re-apply antibiotic ointment daily.

Bitter apple or an Elizabethan collar (cone) may deter chewing at the bandage. If excessive bleeding or swelling occurs or if the tissue changes color, take your dog to your veterinarian. If skin and muscle damage is severe, medical intervention is advised.

1. Your dog may need systemic antibiotics and pain medication to allow for proper healing.
2. Lacerations.
3. More severe than simple abrasions, lacerations can be deep cuts that expose underlying muscle and bone.
4. Some lacerations are self-inflicted by dogs that are nervous, bored, or have other behavior problems.

Tail biting can also be a result of flea allergies or impacted anal glands. Infection is likely to occur, especially with bite wounds and some lacerations require sutures. Wrap the tail in a towel to control bleeding while you take your dog to the veterinary emergency clinic.

1. Happy Tail.
2. Despite the name, happy tail injuries are NOT happy.
3. Certain breeds of dogs wag their tails constantly, hitting them repeatedly against solid objects like coffee tables, trees, or walls, causing injury.
4. Happy tails often develop bleeding ulcers that will not heal because the source of the problem (wagging) will not stop.

These injuries expose delicate nerves that cause pain, so veterinary intervention is advised. Sometimes bandaging the injured area along with antibiotics and pain medication will prevent infection, calm the nerves, and allow the tail to heal. In severe, chronic cases where the wagging will not stop and the injury will not heal, the best solution is surgical shortening of the tail.

Although this changes the dog’s appearance, a shorter wagging tail is less likely to cause injury. Happy tail injuries are usually not emergencies, but require treatment to heal properly. If you notice a raw spot on your dog’s tail, call your veterinarian. Fractured Tail. Like any other bones, tail vertebrae can break.

Very often a fractured tail occurs when a dog is hit by a car, falls off a porch or bed, or has his tail slammed in a door. The location of the fracture has a lot to do with how serious it is. If the fracture is located at the tip of the tail, it usually heals well without any treatment, although the tail may have a bump or kink at the fracture site.

• If the bones in the tail are crushed, part of the tail may have to be amputated.
• Injuries near the base of the tail often involve nerve damage and are more serious.
• If your dog is hit by a car or has a bad fall, take him to your veterinarian to have a complete exam.
• His tail may not be the only thing that needs attention.

Nerve damage. The nerves in the tail are protected by the bony vertebrae, but they can be injured nonetheless. Avulsion injuries are caused when the tail is pulled strenuously stretch or tear nerves, while breaks near the base of the tail may sever nerves.

1. Tail pull injuries can cause damage to nerves higher up in the spinal cord that control urination and defecation.
2. If the nerves that control urination and defecation are injured, your dog may become incontinent.
3. With time, nerve function may return; however, some dogs remain unable to control their bladder or bowels.

Nerve damage may also cause the tail to hang limply. Your dog may not be able to wag his tail or even raise it when having a bowel movement. Skin infections may be a secondary problem with limp tails. If you notice that your dog cannot wag his tail and it hangs limply, consult your veterinarian.

Limber or Cold Tail. Limber tail is a painful muscle condition that is thought to be caused by overexertion. It causes pain at the base of the tail that is usually sensitive to touch and the remainder of the tail is often limp. It most commonly affects large breed, working dogs. Since a fractured or infected tail can look similar it is important to consult with your veterinarian to enable the best treatment.

If fractures and infections have been ruled out, treatment includes rest and anti-inflammatory pain medications. While minor abrasions may be treated at home, many tail injuries require veterinary attention. Your job as a pet owner is to assess the situation and seek veterinary help when needed.

Can animals regrow their tails?

Alligators can regrow their tails, new study finds Small reptiles like lizards and geckos are known for their extraordinary ability to regrow their tails, a potentially lifesaving skill in the wild. But it turns out these reptiles are not the only animals in the amniote family with the ability to regenerate appendages.

“The regrown skeleton was surrounded by connective tissue and skin but lacked any skeletal muscle (which lizard tails do regenerate with),” Kenro Kusumi, co-senior study author and professor and director of ASU’s School of Life Sciences and associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, told CNN. Even a muscle-less regrown tail is vital for the massive predators, Kusumi added. The team of researchers says that understanding these limitations may help in developing regenerative therapies in humans. “We know that humans – who are incapable of regenerating – have the same cells and pathways being used to regenerate in these other animals,” Jeanne Wilson-Rawls, co-senior study author and associate professor with ASU’s School of Life Sciences, told CNN. “If this very large long-limbed animal has this ability, can we take advantage of this to help people who have lost limbs or burn victims who need skin regeneration?” Kusumi quickly added that this isn’t something that is going to happen tomorrow, but maybe by the end of the century.

: Alligators can regrow their tails, new study finds

What will humans look like in 1,000 years?

(Artystarty/iStock) About 10,000 years ago, humans evolved a tolerance to cow’s milk; over the past 150 years, we’ve added 10 centimetres to our average height; and over the past 65 years, we’ve added 20 years to the average lifespan, mostly thanks to advances in science. We’ve come so far in such an incredibly short period of time, so what will we look like in another 1,000 years? In this episode of AsapSCIENCE, the boys run through some of the most exciting scientific breakthroughs that are being made today in order to propel our species into the future. First off, we humans have a reason to be as smug as we are – our brains are so good, even the most advanced computer system doesn’t even come close. In fact, in 2014 researchers used the K computer in Japan – one of the most powerful computers in the world – to simulate human brain activity, and it took 705,024 processor cores, 1.4 million GB of RAM, and 40 minutes to process the same amount of data processed by 1 second of brain activity. But we might not always have an edge over the machines we create. width=”700″ height=”414″ allowfullscreen=”allowfullscreen”> Scientists predict that in the future, computers will not only match the computational speed of the human brain, we’ll also develop artificial intelligence that can speak, interact, listen, and remember. Let’s just hope they don’t use all that information to turn against us. And as computers grow progressively more human, so too will humans become more integrated with robots. In the future, scientists predict that we’ll have minuscule robots called nanobots swimming around our bodies and enhancing our natural abilities. Known as transhumanism, this could see us no longer limited to what biology can be achieved, and the possibilities of that are pretty incredible to think about. And it’s not just our own bodies that technology has the potential to completely change. As the video points out, ‘utility clouds’ of microscopic robots could assemble themselves into entire buildings and them disassemble just as easily. “Picture your house disassembling when you leave in the morning so that space can be used for something else,” says AsapSCIENCE, In the next 1,000 years, the amount of languages spoken on the planet are set to seriously diminish, and all that extra heat and UV radiation could see darker skin become an evolutionary advantage. And we’re all set to get a whole lot taller and thinner, if we want to survive, that is. Why? I’ll let AsapSCIENCE explain that one in the video above, but let’s just say global warming is going to have a much bigger impact on our appearance than you might think. A version of this article was first published in October 2015.

Why did humans stop evolving?

NON-ADAPTIVE EVOLUTION INDUCED BY THE RELAXATION OF NATURAL SELECTION – The primary rationale for arguing that human evolution has stopped is that human culture has relaxed or even completely eliminated natural selection on certain traits. What is not generally appreciated is that the relaxation of selection on one trait can actually lead to its evolution by natural selection on other traits.

All too often traits are regarded one-by-one, as if each trait could evolve independently of all other traits. However, the biological reality is that traits are correlated through developmental processes, pleiotropic genetic effects, and physiological connections. Consequently, it is commonplace that evolution of one trait induces correlated evolution on another trait.

If the nature of these inherent correlations are known or estimated, then one test for natural selection on a set of traits is that they violate these inherent correlations over evolutionary time. If one trait is evolving due to natural selection, but a second trait is no longer being selected, selection on the first trait is expected to cause evolutionary change at the second trait in a manner consistent with the inherent correlations.

For example, there is no controversy that the human lineage has been strongly selected for increased brain size over the past 2 million years, 38 and that one of the primary driving forces for this evolution of brain size has been our increasing use of learned culture as a means of dealing with the environment and social interactions.

As the cultural sophistication of the human lineage increased, it perhaps did indeed reduce or eliminate selection on some traits. For example, most animals adapt to their diet through their teeth and jaws, but humans increasingly used tools and fire to prepare their food, thereby reducing the importance of jaw and tooth evolution as a means of adapting to the dietary environment.

Ackerman and Cheverud 39 tested the hypotheses of selected versus neutral evolution of human teeth and jaws by comparing various hominid fossil measurements to the expected correlations among relative brain size, tooth size, and jaw size as inferred from modern-day humans, chimpanzees and gorillas, which all have remarkably similar developmental correlations for these traits.

The results are shown in Figure 1, At the base of this figure is a skull of a gracile australopithecine, and stemming off that ancestral form are two lineages. The lineage on the left represents the robust australopithecines, and the lineage on the right is the one that led to modern humans.

The arrows indicating the lineages are shaded to indicate the strength of the estimated selection on the face (mostly teeth and jaws measurements), such that the darker the shading, the more intense the selection. As can be seen, the robust australopithecine lineage was subject to very intense natural selection on their faces, indicating that they primarily adapted to their dietary environment through adaptive evolution of the teeth and jaws.

In contrast, in the lineage leading to modern humans, the intensity of selection on the face diminishes with time, and by 1.5 million years ago there is no longer any detectable selection on human teeth and jaws. Ackerman and Cheverud 39 interpreted this as being consistent with the hypothesis that cultural evolution in the human lineage had indeed eliminated natural selection on human teeth and jaws.

• However, this does not mean that human teeth and jaws have not evolved over the last 1.5 million years.
• During the last 1.5 million years, there was a large increase in brain size in the human lineage driven by natural selection, and given the developmental constraints common to humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas, human jaws and teeth would continue to evolve as a correlated effect of brain size evolution.

In particular, jaws and teeth were predicted to become relatively smaller for our body size as a correlated response to increased brain size, with the jaw becoming relatively smaller more rapidly than the teeth. Hence, the elimination of natural selection directly upon teeth and jaws did not eliminate evolution on these traits because of natural selection for increased brain size. Natural selection on facial characteristics and diversity in early human evolution are shown in a temporal context. The two arrows indicate the robust austra-lopithecine lineage on the left and the lineage leading to modern humans on the right. The darker the shading, the more intense the selection on facial features.

What is the longest tail on a human?

Chandre Oram is an Indian tea estate worker who lives in Alipurduar district of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal. He is famous for having a 33 cm (13 inch) long tail, which has made him an object of devotion to many, who believe him to be an incarnation of Hanuman, a Hindu deity associated with monkeys.

Did humans evolve from fish?

We’re more like primitive fishes than once believed, new research shows People traditionally think that lungs and limbs are key innovations that came with the vertebrate transition from water to land. But in fact, the genetic basis of air-breathing and limb movement was already established in our fish ancestor 50 million years earlier.

This, according to a recent genome mapping of primitive fish conducted by the University of Copenhagen, among others. The new study changes our understanding of a key milestone in our own evolutionary history. There is nothing new about humans and all other vertebrates having evolved from fish. The conventional understanding has been that certain fish shimmied landwards roughly 370 million years ago as primitive, lizard-like animals known as tetrapods.

According to this understanding, our fish ancestors came out from water to land by converting their fins to limbs and breathing under water to air-breathing. However, limbs and lungs are not innovations that appeared as recent as once believed. Our common fish ancestor that lived 50 million years before the tetrapod first came ashore already carried the genetic codes for limb-like forms and air breathing needed for landing.

• These genetic codes are still present in humans and a group of primitive fishes.
• This has been demonstrated by recent genomic research conducted by University of Copenhagen and their partners.
• The new research reports that the evolution of these ancestral genetic codes might have contributed to the vertebrate water-to-land transition, which changes the traditional view of the sequence and timeline of this big evolutionary jump.

The study has been published in the scientific journal Cell, “The water-to-land transition is a major milestone in our evolutionary history. The key to understanding how this transition happened is to reveal when and how the lungs and limbs evolved. We are now able to demonstrate that the genetic basis underlying these biological functions occurred much earlier before the first animals came ashore,” stated by professor and lead author Guojie Zhang, from Villum Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Biology.

A group of ancient living fishes might hold the key to explain how the tetrapod ultimately could grow limbs and breathe on air. The group of fishes includes the bichir that lives in shallow freshwater habitats in Africa. These fishes differ from most other extant bony fishes by carrying traits that our early fish ancestors might have had over 420 million years ago.

And the same traits are also present in for example humans. Through a genomic sequencing the researchers found that the genes needed for the development of lungs and limbs have already appeared in these primitive species. Our synovial joint evolved from fish ancestor Using pectoral fins with a locomotor function like limbs, the bichir can move about on land in a similar way to the tetrapod.

• Researchers have for some years believed that pectoral fins in bichir represent the fins that our early fish ancestors had.
• The new genome mapping shows that the joint which connects the socalled metapterygium bone with the radial bones in the pectoral fin in the bichir is homologous to synovial joints in humans – the joints that connect upper arm and forearm bones.

The DNA sequence that controls the formation of our synovial joints already existed in the common ancestors of bonefish and is still present in these primitive fishes and in terrestrial vertebrates. At some point, this DNA sequence and the synovial joint was lost in all of the common bony fishes – the socalled teleosts.

1. This genetic code and the joint allows our bones move freely, which explains why the bichir can move around on land,” says Guojie Zhang.
2. First lungs, then swim bladder Moreover, the bichir and a few other primitive fishes have a pair of lungs that anatomically resembles ours.
3. The new study reveals that the lungs in both bichir and alligator gar also function in a similar manner and express same set of genes as human lungs.

At the same time, the study demonstrates that the tissue of the lung and swim bladder of most extant fishes are very similar in gene expression, confirming they are homologous organs as predicted by Darwin. But while Darwin suggested that swim bladders converted to lungs, the study suggests it is more likely that swim bladders evolved from lungs.

The research suggests that our early bony fish ancestors had primitive functional lungs. Through evolution, one branch of fish preserved the lung functions that are more adapted to air breathing and ultimately led to the evolution of tetrapods. The other branch of fishes modified the lung structure and evolved with swim bladders, leading the evolution of teleosts.

The swim bladders allow these fishes to maintain buoyancy and perceive pressure, thus better survive under water. “The study enlightens us with regards to where our body organs came from and how their functions are decoded in the genome. Thus, some of the functions related to lung and limbs did not evolve at the time when the water-to-land transition occurred, but are encoded by some ancient gene regulatory mechanisms that were already present in our fish ancestor far before landing.

It is interesting that these genetic codes are still present in these ‘living-fossil” fishes, which offer us the opportunity to trace back the root of these genes,” concludes Guojie Zhang. FACT BOX 1: Not just limbs and lungs, but also the heart Primitive fish and humans also share a common and critical function in the cardio-respiratory system: The conus arteriosus, a structure in the right ventricle of our heart which might allow the heart to efficiently deliver the oxygen to the whole body, and which is also found in the bichir.

However, the vast majority of bony fish have lost this structure. The researchers discovered a genetic element that appears to control the development of the conus arteriosus. Transgenic experiments with mice showed that when researchers removed this genetic element, the mutated mice died due to thinner, smaller right ventricles, which lead to congenital heart defects and compromised heart function.

The vast majority of extant fish species belong to the ray-finned fishes, a subclass of bony fish. These are typically fish with gills, fins and a swim bladder. The terrestrial group of vertebrates are known as tetrapod. The tetrapod includes all vertebrates that descended from the first animals adapted to a life on land by developing four limbs and lungs, i.e., all mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. The researchers’ theory is that the air-breathing ability in these primitive fishes allowed them to survive the second mass extinction roughly 375-360 million years ago. At that time, oxygen depletion in Earth’s oceans caused a majority of species to be wiped out. Lungs allowed some fish to survive on land. The study has been published in the scientific journal Cell, The research team also contributed to another paper which reported the genome for another primitive fish, the lungfish. The genome is the biggest vertebrate genome decoded so far. This paper was published in Cell at the same time. The research is supported by the Villum Foundation, among others.

: We’re more like primitive fishes than once believed, new research shows

What is the purpose of a tail on a dog?

A dog’s tail has three main purposes: to help the dog balance, move, and communicate. Especially if a dog is moving quickly, changing direction, or climbing, the tail can help steer and guide the dog as a counterbalance, ultimately preventing them from falling, tripping, or overcompensating in the opposite direction.

Why do mammals have tails?

Ever wonder why animals have tails? When I get home at the end of the day, I am greeted by 35 pounds of bouncing fur and three tails wagging a mile a minute. After lots of rubs and kisses, my three Havanese dogs settle down for a game of fetch and a few naps before bedtime.

Of course, life with dogs is not without its ups and downs. If I catch one of my pups doing something wrong, a stern look from me will send those furry tails between their hind legs faster than you can say “Scooby Doo.” Before we had kids, my wife and I had cats. Although feline tails are designed more to help cats balance than to show their feelings, whenever we opened a can of Friskies, two cats came prancing into the kitchen with their tails raised so high, they looked like exclamation points! (On the other end of the emotional spectrum, housecats will swish their tails from side to side if a pesky human is bothering them.) When a housecat rubs against your body, he is marking you with scent glands on his face and the base of his tail.

While this may seem affectionate, you are actually being identified as part of the cat’s territory. We can’t smell this scent, but he can. But what about wild members of the animal kingdom? What purposes do their tails serve? Monkeys and other primates have two types of tails: non-prehensile and prehensile.

Like cats’, non-prehensile tails are designed to help an animal with balance as it swings, climbs and jumps through its environment. A prehensile tail, on the other hand, can also grab objects and has the ability to act like an extra arm as well as a tail. Some non-primates, including opossums and lizards, have prehensile tails that help them climb and safely walk along tree branches.

Rattlesnakes have evolved a special organ at the end of their tails that enable them to warn intruders and keep enemies at bay. The rattle is made from keratin, which is the same substance found in fingernails, animal hooves and horns. Birds use their tail feathers for steering.

• Fish and sea mammals use their tail fins for steering and to propel them through the water.
• Fish tails move side to side; the tails of sea mammals move up and down.) Grazing animals such as elephants, zebras and giraffes have long, thin tails with a tuft of hair on the end.
• These tails function like built-in fly swatters that enable the animals to protect themselves from biting insects.

Allig ators store fat in their tails, and foxes use their bushy tails like a blanket to keep them warm in the winter. A dominant male hippopotamus uses his tail like a propeller to spread his feces (poop) around so other males don’t try to horn in on his territory.

Can animals control their tails?

Voluntary Movement – Most cat tail movement is voluntary, says Moon, which makes sense when you consider their purpose. “Cats use their tails to balance, both when walking on narrow footing and when hunting prey,” she continues. “They also use them to communicate with other animals (humans included).