Therefore, Peter Kappeler argues that if humans had tails, they would not serve any purpose.
First Published Oct 26, 2022, 3:19 PM IST
Ever wondered about men with tails? What would happen if the human body had a tail? Now each organ in our body has its own dharma. There is an importance in our body that even a finger cannot spare. So what if humans had tails? Don’t laugh. Because our ancestors had tails.
Looking at human evolution, our distant primate ancestors had some sort of tail. Around 25 million years ago, tails disappeared in our direct lineage. But in rare cases, babies are still born with spina bifida (a condition in which a baby is born with a gap in the spine). This fleshy growth often contains muscle, connective tissue, and blood vessels, but no bone or cartilage. They are not functional. Therefore, it is usually removed after birth.
Some species of monkeys from South and Central America have prehensile tails. They can grasp objects with these tails. They can also use their tails to wrap around, bend, and hang from trees. Called New World monkeys, it was developed by European colonists and later discovered by scientists. But the closest tailed relatives to humans on the evolutionary tree are the great apes of Africa, Asia and southern Europe, such as baboons and macaques. Their tails are used for balance. None of them have a prehensile tail, because that’s a step back in the family tree, Peter Kappeler, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Göttingen in Germany, said in LiveScience.
Therefore, Peter Kappeler argues that if humans had tails, they would not serve any purpose. Kapaler said that it should not mean that it will be useless. A long, furry tail like a macaque’s can be useful to wrap around us for warmth. Our tails are also said to be useful as a fat storage system.
Last Updated Oct 26, 2022, 3:20 PM IST
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