Which Animal Group Is Characterized By The Absence Of Tails?

Tail of an animal that has adjusted to exist able to grasp or agree objects

A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has adjusted to grasp or agree objects.^[ane] Fully prehensile tails tin be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees. If the tail cannot exist used for this it is considered just partially prehensile - such tails are oftentimes used to anchor an brute's trunk to dangle from a branch, or as an aid for climbing. The term prehensile means "able to grasp" (from the Latin prehendere, to have concur of, to grasp).^[2]

Development [edit]

One point of interest is the distribution of animals with prehensile tails. The prehensile tail is predominantly a New World adaptation, especially amid mammals.^[1] Many more animals in Southward America accept prehensile tails than in Africa and Southeast Asia. It has been argued that animals with prehensile tails are more than common in South America because the forest there is denser than in Africa or Southeast Asia.^[iii] In contrast, less dense forests such every bit in Southeast Asia have been observed to have more abundant gliding animals such as colugos or flying snakes; few gliding vertebrates are found in S America. S American rainforests besides differ past having more lianas, every bit there are fewer large animals to eat them than in Africa and Asia; the presence of lianas may assistance climbers but obstruct gliders.^[4] Curiously, Commonwealth of australia-New Republic of guinea contains many mammals with prehensile tails and also many mammals which can glide; in fact, all Australian mammalian gliders take tails that are prehensile to an extent.

Beefcake and physiology [edit]

Tails are by and large a feature of vertebrates; all the same, some invertebrates such equally scorpions too take appendages that can exist considered tails. However, only vertebrates are known to have adult prehensile tails. Many mammals with prehensile tails will have a bare patch to aid gripping. This bare patch is known as a "friction pad".

Animals with fully prehensile tails [edit]

Mammals [edit]

• New World monkeys. Many New World monkeys in the family unit Atelidae, which includes howler monkeys, spider monkeys and woolly monkeys, have grasping tails often with a bare tactile pad. This is in dissimilarity with their distant Old World monkey cousins who practise not have prehensile tails.^[i]
• Opossum. A marsupial group from the Americas. The tail is occasionally used every bit a grip to carry bunches of leaves or bedding materials to the nest.^[5]
• Anteaters. Anteaters are plant in Central and Due south America. Three of the four species of anteater, the silky anteater and the 2 species of tamandua, have prehensile tails
• Binturong. One of the few Erstwhile World animals with fully prehensile tails, although they use only the tip of the tail.
• Kinkajou. The kinkajou of S and Fundamental America is the only other animal of the order Carnivora, too the binturong, to sport the adaptation.^[iii]
• Harvest mouse. Another old world mammal, the harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) as well has a fully prehensile tail. It is unremarkably found amongst areas of alpine grasses such as cereal crops (particularly wheat and oats), roadside verges, hedgerows, reedbeds, dykes and table salt-marshes.
• New Globe porcupines of the genera Coendou and Chaetomys have fully prehensile tails that help them to climb and foreclose them from falling from trees.^[2]
• Tree pangolin. One of the few Erstwhile Globe mammals with a fully prehensile tail.
• Microgale longicaudata, an arboreal species of the tenrec family.

Fish [edit]

• Seahorses. Seahorses have fully prehensile tails, which they use to attach themselves to objects such as seagrass, algae, sponges, corals, or even human-made objects.

Animals with partially prehensile tails [edit]

Mammals [edit]

• New Globe monkeys. The capuchin monkey. The capuchin is more than intelligent enough to make full use of its prehensile tail, but since the tail lacks an area of bare skin for a expert grip it is just used in climbing and dangling. Other reasons for partial prehensility might include the lack of strength or flexibility in the tail, or simply having no need to manipulate objects with it.
• Tree porcupines. The 15 species of tree porcupine (genus Coendou). They are plant in South America, with one species extending to Mexico. All have prehensile tails.
• Rats have been known to exist able to wrap the tail around an object after running around information technology, therefore giving the animal a small bit of balance. They take as well been seen to exist able to briefly hang off an object, though not for long.
• Possums. This big, diverse group of 63 species forms the marsupial suborder Phalangeriformes, found in Commonwealth of australia, New Guinea, and some nearby islands. All members of the suborder have prehensile tails; however, the tails of some members such every bit the Acrobatidae accept only limited prehensile capacity. Notably, all iii marsupial glider groups belong to this suborder.
• Potoroidae. A marsupial grouping constitute in Commonwealth of australia that includes the bettongs and the potoroos. They have weakly prehensile tails.
• Monito del monte. A minor Southward American marsupial with a prehensile tail.

Reptiles [edit]

• Prehensile-tailed skink. Several kinds of skink (e.m. Corucia zebrata) take partially prehensile tails.^[half-dozen]
• Chameleons.
• Snakes. Many snakes accept prehensile tails (or a prehensile body)
• Crested gecko and their relatives have prehensile tails
• Urocoyledon rasmusseni. A gecko recently discovered in the Udzungwa mountains.^[7]
• Alligator lizard. Some alligator lizards such equally the southern alligator cadger, the Texas alligator lizard, and the arboreal alligator lizards (genus Abronia) accept prehensile tails.
• Large-headed turtle, and juvenile specimens of the family Chelydridae.

Amphibians [edit]

• Salamanders. A number of North American forest-habitation climbing salamanders take prehensile tails that assistance them climb. Some are from the genus Aneides such every bit the clouded salamander (Aneides ferreus), the wandering salamander (Aneides vagrans), and the arboreal salamander (Aneides lugubris). Others are the big Crimson Hills salamander (Phaeognathus hubrichti) and the cavern salamander (Eurycea lucifuga). At that place are as well the Central American Bolitoglossa sombra and Mexican and Central American Bolitoglossa mexicana salamanders.

Fish [edit]

• Syngnathidae. Many species from this group, which includes seahorses^[viii] and pipefish, have prehensile tails.

References [edit]

1. ^ ^{a b c} Fleagle, J. Grand. (1998). Primate Accommodation and Evolution (2nd ed.). Academic Press. pp. 172. ISBN978-0-12-260341-9.
2. ^ ^{a b} Roze, U. (2012). Porcupines: The Animal Answer Guide. JHU Press. p. 32. ISBN9781421407357.
3. ^ ^{a b} Organ, J. M. (2008). The Functional Anatomy of Prehensile and Nonprehensile Tails of the Platyrrhini (Primates) and Procyonidae (Carnivora). Johns Hopkins University. ISBN9780549312260.
4. ^ "Life in the Rainforest". Archived from the original on 2006-05-06. Retrieved 2006-04-15 .
5. ^ González, E.Grand.; Claramunt, S. (2000). "Behaviors of captive short-tailed Opossums, Monodelphis dimidiata (Wagner, 1847) (Didelphimorphia, Didelphidae)". Mammalia. 64 (three). doi:10.1515/mamm.2000.64.3.271. S2CID 84782113.
6. ^ Annoy, D. P. (2006). Lizards: A Natural History of Some Uncommon Creatures - Extraordinary Chameleons, Iguanas, Geckos, and More. Voyageur Press. ISBN9781610604406.
7. ^ Naish, D. (2008). "Chinese blackness rhinos and deinotheres, giant sengis, and yet more than new lemurs". ScienceBlogs. Retrieved 2013-04-12 .
8. ^ Rosamond Gifford Zoo Volunteers (July 23, 2005). "Lined Seahorse" (PDF).

External links [edit]

• Canopy life
• More on canopy life

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehensile_tail

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