|
Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ that has adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere,'' meaning "to grasp." ==Examples== Appendages that can become prehensile include: * Prehensile feet: * * The feet of primates are all prehensile to varying degrees * * The claws of cats are also prehensile * Prehensile tails – Many extant lizards have prehensile tails (geckos, chameleons, and a species of skink). Seahorses grip seaweed with their tails. Several fossil animals have been interpreted as having prehensile tails, including several Late Triassic drepanosaurs,〔Silvio Renesto, Justin A. Spielmann, Spencer G. Lucas, and Giorgio Tarditi Spagnoli. (2010). The taxonomy and paleobiology of the Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian: Adamanian-Apachean) drepanosaurs (Diapsida: Archosauromorpha: Drepanosauromorpha). ''New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin''. 46:1–81〕 and possibly the Late Permian synapsid ''Suminia''.〔Jörg Fröbisch and Robert R. Reisz. (2009). The Late Permian herbivore ''Suminia'' and the early evolution of arboreality in terrestrial vertebrate ecosystems. ''Proceedings of the Royal Society B''. Online First 〕 * Tongue – of giraffes in particular * Nose – elephants, tapirs * Lips – lake sturgeon, orangutans, horses and rhinos * Cephalopod arm – arms such as those of octopuses * Upper lip, such as that of the Florida manatee * Penises, such as that of the Tapir〔Danielle Andrew, IFLS. (2015). http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/how-tapir-scratches-itch〕 or Dolphin.〔Felicity Morse, The Independent. (2013). http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-video-of-a-dolphin-is-shocking-but-is-it-just-because-it-reminds-us-of-ourselves-8940162.html〕 Prehensility affords non-human animals and humans a great natural advantage in manipulating their environment for feeding, digging and defense. It enables many animals, such as primates, to use tools in order to complete tasks that would otherwise be impossible without highly specialized anatomy. For example, chimpanzees have the ability to use sticks to obtain termites and grubs in a manner similar to human fishing. However, not all prehensile organs are applied to tool use—the giraffe tongue, for instance, is instead used in feeding and self-cleaning behaviors. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Prehensility」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|