tail

Also known as ocas

thumb|A white-tailed deer's tail The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolved to lose their tails (e.g. frogs and hominid primates), the coccyx is the homologous vestigial of the tail. While tails are primarily considered a feature of vertebrates, some invertebrates such as scorpions and springtails, as well as snails and slugs, have tail-like appendages that are also referred to as tails.

AI overview

A tail is a flexible, elongated appendage that extends backward from the rear end of an animal's body, found in many vertebrates like deer as well as some invertebrates like scorpions. Tails matter because they serve various functions for animals and represent an important evolutionary feature—even in animals that no longer have visible tails, like humans, vestigial remnants called the coccyx show where a tail once was.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Research

117,873 papers

The vertebrate tail: a gene playground for evolution.ReviewCellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2020Mallo MDOI: 10.1007/s00018-019-03311-1
Morphologically defined substages of tail morphogenesis in C. elegans males.ReviewDevelopmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists · 2024Kiontke K, Fernandez P, Woronik A et al.DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.721
Cosmetic tail docking of dogs.ReviewAustralian veterinary journal · 1996Wansbrough RKDOI: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1996.tb13737.x
Tail-biting: a new perspective.ReviewVeterinary journal (London, England : 1997) · 2010Taylor NR, Main DC, Mendl M et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2009.08.028
Tail biting in pigs.ReviewVeterinary journal (London, England : 1997) · 2001Schrøder-Petersen DL, Simonsen HBDOI: 10.1053/tvjl.2001.0605
Tail evolution.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 1997Nielsen CDOI: 10.1126/science.277.5331.1421b
A Murine Tail Lymphedema Model.Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE · 2021Hassanein AH, Sinha M, Neumann CR et al.DOI: 10.3791/61848
Tail regeneration alters the digestive performance of lizards.Journal of evolutionary biology · 2021Sagonas K, Deimezis-Tsikoutas A, Reppa A et al.DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13769

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Wikidata facts

Image: Dog tail erect.jpg

Show 2 more facts

Commons category: Tails
MCN code: 0206.29.10

Sources (1)

wikidata.org

via Wikidata · CC0

~7 min read

Article

7 sections

Contents

Function
Neuronal control
Human tails
Gallery
See also
References
External links

Tail-shaped objects are sometimes referred to as "caudate" (e.g. caudate lobe, caudate nucleus), and the body part associated with or proximal to the tail are given the adjective "caudal" (which is considered a more precise anatomical terminology).