A Tale of Talented Tails

Have you ever had your hands full and wished you had an extra one? Some animals have something almost as good: a prehensileRefers to a body part that can be used like a hand for grasping or holding. tail! Through adaptation, a prehensileRefers to a body part that can be used like a hand for grasping or holding. tail is able to grasp objects. Fully prehensileRefers to a body part that can be used like a hand for grasping or holding. tails can be used like a hand to hold onto objects and to help arborealAble to live in trees, like a parrot or iguana. creatures find and eat food while in the trees. Partially prehensileRefers to a body part that can be used like a hand for grasping or holding. tails are often used to anchor an animalAny living thing that is not a plant. Most animals can move about freely. All use plants or other animals as food. All have sensory organs.'s body while it dangles from a branch or as an aid for climbing.

 

Many more animals in South America have prehensileRefers to a body part that can be used like a hand for grasping or holding. tails than those living in Africa and Southeast Asia. Some people think that more animals with prehensileRefers to a body part that can be used like a hand for grasping or holding. tails are found in South America because the forestAn area with many trees. there is very thick compared to that of Africa or Southeast Asia's forests.

 

So who in the Animal KingdomEvery animal (from butterflies to basset hounds to black bears to you) belongs to this scientific grouping. has one of these talented tails? Among mammals, you'll find these special assets on the bottoms of monkeys like howler monkeys, woolly monkeys, and spiderA small, cold-blooded animal with eight legs. A spider's body is made up of two parts. It has no wings and no backbone. Many spiders spin webs to catch insects for food. monkeys. Opposums and tree pangolins aren't monkeys, but they also have prehensileRefers to a body part that can be used like a hand for grasping or holding. tails. Other prehensileRefers to a body part that can be used like a hand for grasping or holding.-tailed critters are binturongs, which, although their tail is fully prehensileRefers to a body part that can be used like a hand for grasping or holding., mostly use just the tip, and kinkajous; these are the only two carnivoreA meat-eating animal; one who eats the flesh of other animals. speciesA group of individuals that have many of the same characteristics, and are different from all other animals in some important way. Hamsters and mice are two different species of rodent. to have such a useful tail.

 

Mammals aren't the only ones that can have a prehensileRefers to a body part that can be used like a hand for grasping or holding. tail. Reptiles like the prehensileRefers to a body part that can be used like a hand for grasping or holding.-tailed skink (you could tell by its name, couldn't you?) have this adaptation, along with some lizards like the alligator lizardAnimal that has a long, scaly body, four legs (usually), and a long tail. It is cold-blooded and has a backbone.. PrehensileRefers to a body part that can be used like a hand for grasping or holding. tails also come in handy in the water—just ask amphibians like the clouded salamander. Even some fish have a prehensileRefers to a body part that can be used like a hand for grasping or holding. tail. Can you guess which one? The seahorse!