Sometimes it seems that the body structure of animals is unique, and it is unclear why some parts of the body are. For example, why do animals need a tail? Each scientist will say that there is nothing superfluous on the planet, even the smallest tail in the world is necessary, if any.
For the most part, it plays a physiological and mechanical role in the life of the animal, the tail helps to jump, move along the branches and delight their own kind.
Tail as a prop
Once upon a time, lizards walked the earth, which were of different sizes, but the most interesting thing was that they moved like humans on two legs. Why do animals need a tail? He performed the function of the third leg when the lizard was sitting or moving. Although many lizards have disappeared from the face of the earth, some animals have such tails. For example, a kangaroo or aardvark. The last animal often moves on four legs, but, having found a termite dwelling, it sits on its hind legs, leaning on its tail, breaks the structure to get insects.
Woodpeckers and pika also have a very powerful and stiff tail. He also acts as a support when a woodpecker hollows a stump or climbs a tree.
Tail-arm
What is the role of the tail in animals? In some monkeys, in particular in South American chain-tailed and howlers, it plays the role of a hand. The howler’s tail is covered with wool only on top, so it is more convenient to cling to tree branches.
Coat monkeys can hang on a branch for a long time, catching only with one paw and tail. At the same time, this type of animal is able to use its tail, extracting the fruits of trees and moving objects.
Kinkaju (a relative of a raccoon) also uses the tail, like coats. This is a small animal, no larger than a rabbit, but with a very long and tenacious fifth limb.
A seahorse, which swims badly enough, uses its tail in order to catch on a plant and wait for prey, and not swim, spending a huge amount of strength and energy.
Tail - "motor"
Why do animals need a tail? They can use this limb as an engine. The most striking example is the whale, which has the most powerful tail among all animals. It’s scary to imagine, but the tail whale’s tail is 5 meters wide. Another interesting fact is that in whales the tail is horizontal, that is, it is located not like in all fishes. This is due to the fact that the animal breathes atmospheric air, and is immersed in water only for food, although sometimes it has to go down hundreds of meters. Naturally, procrastination can cause hunger. And it is the horizontal tail arrangement that allows the fish to move faster underwater.
And in crayfish, the tail can be compared with a powerful motor. In case of danger, it is with his help that the animal quickly rakes the mink and hides in it.
The kangaroo also uses the tail as a motor, repelling it from the surface of the earth.
Steering wheel and balancer
Why do animals need a tail? Most often it is used specifically for controlling the body. First of all, birds need it to land. In addition, the tail helps birds search for prey from the air, so in predators they are usually larger, wider and longer.
This limb also allows you to balance, if you watch how the birds sit on the branches, you can see that the tail is in constant motion.
But the main thing is that the tail allows you to quench the turbulence of the air jets that interfere with the flight.
The tail uses a desman and a lion as a rudder when it attacks its prey. And it helps jerboas to maintain a center of gravity when the animal jumps.
Parachute
The flying squirrel skillfully uses its fifth limb as a parachute. When it already seems that the marten will overtake its victim, the flying squirrel spreads its tail and in the blink of an eye appears on the ground or lower branches. A striped chipmunk has a similar skill.
Defender and weapon
Why do animals need a tail? It can act as a defense. The simplest example is horses and cows, in which this process allows driving away annoying flies and gadflies.
Another example is a lizard, which, quickly fleeing the enemy, flings its tail. While he still wriggles on the ground, the animal itself runs away, and the predator can only be content with the tail of a lizard.
The jerboa does the same, only during the attack of the enemy the tail does not fall off, but peels off, as a result, the predator only has skin in its mouth or beak.
And the herbivorous lizard from the Arabian and Egyptian deserts uses its tail as a rope, which beats off enemies. And crocodiles use their limbs to attack the victim. The same gavial, which has gigantic dimensions (up to 5 meters in length), is still not dangerous for people, but with its tail it stuns fish in water, which is what it eats.
Lungs
A vivid example is a water bug or, as it is also called, a scorpion. This is a small insect feeding on crustaceans and aquatic insects. If an insect enters water, then it can breathe air through its tail, folding it into a tube. The tail of a ranatra insect is similarly arranged.
There is also an interesting fish jumper, which can be on wet sand for up to 5 days. But this fish always lowers its tail into the water. According to some reports, this is how she breathes on land.
Blanket
Naturally, tracking wild animals is difficult, but it is an established fact that many of them use the tail as a blanket. This can even be noticed when the dog is sleeping. When it is cold, it always hides the nose in the tail, whose hairs warm the air, and warm air enters the body.
And the fluffy tail of a squirrel is a real screen from the wind. When the street is cool enough, the animal lies against the wind and wraps itself in its own tail. The anteater also hides its own limb, falling to its side before going to bed, it presses its paws and covers itself with its tail.
Stockroom
Even for storing food, some animals use their own tail. This is how the thick-tailed marsupial dormouse, living on the Australian archipelago, does. When there is a huge amount of food, it lays fat in the tail, so that it can then be consumed during hibernation. Fat in the fifth limb is also laid by fat tail sheep.
Dogs
In these animals, the tail is almost constantly in motion. Why does a dog need a tail? By his movements, you can determine in what condition the animal is. If the tail is caught between the legs, then the dog is scared, if it wags, then it is excited.
With a quick movement, you can see how the tail helps the dog to move, find the right position when cornering, running along a log. The same thing happens during swimming, the tail allows you to stay afloat and choose the right direction, that is, it is actually the steering wheel.
Why does a dog need a tail? In addition to steering function, the tail is a natural way to transmit odor. At the base there are paraanal glands that have a completely different smell in every dog. Emphasizing the smell, the dog attracts the opposite sex, expresses its joy, and at the moment of fear hides the tail between the hind legs so that the smell does not spread.
Cats
Why does a cat need a tail? For the same reason as in dogs. It performs the steering function for balancing, expresses the mood of the animal, helps when jumping and running. But the most interesting thing is that only representatives of this species who are tamed can keep their tail trumpeted, wild cats never do that, they keep it lowered down or horizontally.
Why does a cat need a tail and can it live without it? Of course yes. Cats that have lost their tail in the process of their lives continue an active lifestyle and do not suffer at all. There are also two breeds, kimrik and mank, which, due to genetic features, do not have this limb at all. And there is a Bobtail breed, whose representatives have a very small tail, consisting of five vertebrae and resembling a pompom.
