Editing Prehensility

{{redirect|Prehension|the philosophical|Alfred North Whitehead#Theory of perception}}
{{short description|Quality of an appendage or organ that has adapted for grasping or holding}}
{{refimprove|date=December 2009}}
[[Image:Prehensile (PSF).png|thumb|A [[prehensile tail]]]]
'''Prehensility''' is the quality of an [[appendage]] or [[organ (anatomy)|organ]] that has [[Adaptation (biology)|adapted]] for [[grasp]]ing or holding. The word is derived from the [[Latin]] term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely derived from a number of different origins. The most common are tree-climbing and the need to manipulate food.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Böhmer|first1=Christine|last2=Fabre|first2=Anne-Claire|last3=Taverne|first3=Maxime|last4=Herbin|first4=Marc|last5=Peigné|first5=Stéphane|last6=Herrel|first6=Anthony|date=2019-04-27|title=Functional relationship between myology and ecology in carnivores: do forelimb muscles reflect adaptations to prehension?|journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society|volume=127|issue=3|pages=661–680|doi=10.1093/biolinnean/blz036|issn=0024-4066|doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[File:Giraffe's tongue.jpg|thumb|Giraffe's prehensile [[tongue]]]]

==Examples==
{{prose|section|date=October 2018}}
Appendages that can become prehensile include:
{|
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| [[Hand]]s and<br/>[[feet]]
|colspan=2|
* The [[hand]]s of [[primate]]s are all prehensile to varying degrees
* The front [[paws]] of [[raccoon]]s and many of [[Procyonidae|their relatives]] are prehensile.
* The [[feet]] of [[passerine]] birds can be prehensile
:
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| [[Prehensile tail|Tails]]
|colspan=2|
* [[New World monkey]]s have [[prehensile tail]]s
* [[Prehensile tail|Tails]] of many extant [[lizard]]s ([[gecko]]s, [[chameleon]]s, and a species of [[skink]]) are prehensile
* [[Seahorse]]s grip seaweed with their tails.
* Several [[fossil]] animals have been interpreted as having prehensile tails, including several [[Late Triassic]] [[drepanosaur]]s,<ref name="renesto2010">{{cite journal |last1=Silvio Renesto |first1=Justin A. |last2=Spielmann |first2=Spencer G. Lucas |first3=Giorgio Tarditi |last3=Spagnoli |year=2010 |title=The taxonomy and paleobiology of the Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian: Adamanian-Apachean) drepanosaurs (Diapsida: Archosauromorpha: Drepanosauromorpha) |journal=New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin |volume=46 |pages=1–81}}</ref> and possibly the [[Late Permian]] [[synapsid]] ''[[Suminia]]''.<ref name="frobisch2009">{{cite journal |first1=Jörg |last1=Fröbisch |first2=Robert R. |last2=Reisz |year=2009 |title=The Late Permian herbivore ''Suminia'' and the early evolution of arboreality in terrestrial vertebrate ecosystems |journal=Proceedings of the Royal Society B |volume=276 |issue=1673 |pages=3611–3618 |edition=Online first |doi=10.1098/rspb.2009.0911|pmid=19640883 |pmc=2817304 }}</ref>
:
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| [[Tongue]]
|
* [[Giraffe]]s' tongues in particular are prehensile
* Some other [[ungulates]]' tongues are also prehensile to a lesser extent
:
|rowspan=3|  
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| [[Nose]]
|
* The noses of [[elephant]]s and [[tapir]]s are prehensile
:
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| [[Lip]] or lips  
|
* [[Lip]]s of [[lake sturgeon]], [[orangutan]]s, [[horse]]s, and [[Rhinoceros|rhinos]]
* Upper lip of the [[West Indian manatee]]
:
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
| [[Tentacle]]s
|colspan=2|
* [[Cephalopod limb|Arms]] of [[octopus]]es, [[squid]], and the [[cirrus (biology)|cirri]] of [[nautilus]]es
* To a limited extent, the [[tentacle]]s of [[sea anemone]]s, [[Hydra (genus)|hydra]], and a few other invertebrates can grasp and move objects
:
|}

==Uses==
[[File:Human feet prehensility example.webm|thumb|Human feet prehensility example, done with everyday objects]]
Prehensility affords animals a great natural advantage in manipulating their environment for feeding, climbing, [[wikt:dig|digging]], and defense. It enables many animals, such as primates, to use tools to complete tasks that would otherwise be impossible without highly specialized anatomy. For example, [[chimpanzee]]s have the ability to use sticks to obtain [[termite]]s and [[larva|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 [[Personal grooming|self-cleaning]].

== See also ==
* [[Robot end effector]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Animal anatomy]]
[[Category:Biology terminology]]
[[Category:Evolutionary biology]]