tail

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Introduction References & Edit History Related Topics

Images, Videos & Interactives

Why don't humans have tails?

The elongated tail feathers of the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) are an example of honest handicap signaling. Long tails are a handicap for males because they increase drag and reduce agility. However, males with long tails tend to be strong and healthy and thus are the preferred mates of females.

Peacock coloration

What a rattlesnake's rattle looks like

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Spider monkey swinging in a tree. (primate, jungle animal)

Why Do Animals Have Tails?

Eye. Eyelash. Eyeball. Vision.

7 Vestigial Features of the Human Body

Japanese spider crab

10 Animals With Evolutionary Traits Plucked Straight Out of a Nightmare

Malayan Leaf Frog - Megophrys nasuta

9 Animals That Look Like Leaves

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) standing on rock, side view, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya

The Fastest Animals on Earth

Discover

Mona Lisa, oil on wood panel by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503-06; in the Louvre, Paris, France. 77 x 53 cm.

Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous?

Queen Elizabeth II addresses at opening of Parliament. (Date unknown on photo, but may be 1958, the first time the opening of Parliament was filmed.)

All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained

Ice Sledge Hockey, Hockey Canada Cup, USA (left) vs Canada, 2009. UBC Thunderbird Arena, Vancouver, BC, competition site for Olympic ice hockey and Paralympic ice sledge hockey. Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, Vancouver Olympics

10 Best Hockey Players of All Time

Statue of Nostradamus

Nostradamus and His Prophecies

Figure 13: A Maxim machine gun, belt-fed and water-cooled, operated by German infantrymen, World War I.

7 Deadliest Weapons in History

All Saints Day. All Souls Day. Candles in cemetery in Poland on All Saints Day, November 1. All Souls Day, November 2. Christian church, All Hallows, Solemnity of All Saints, Feast of All Saints, purgatory, Roman Catholic church

7 Unique Burial Rituals Across the World

Space race (1957-1969) infographic between United States (U.S.) and Russia. America, Soviet Union, U.S.S.R., space exploration

Timeline of the Space Race, 1957–69

tail: Media

zoology

Videos

Why don't humans have tails?

Why don't humans have tails?

Scientists have narrowed the answer down to a single genetic mutation.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

What a rattlesnake's rattle looks like

What a rattlesnake's rattle looks like

The rattle of a rattlesnake.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Images

scorpion tail

scorpion tail

Scorpion tail.

© ANGEL OCTAVIO BURGUETTE MORALES—iStock/Getty Images

The elongated tail feathers of the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) are an example of honest handicap signaling. Long tails are a handicap for males because they increase drag and reduce agility. However, males with long tails tend to be strong and healthy and thus are the preferred mates of females.

The elongated tail feathers of the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) are an...

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Interactives

Peacock coloration

Peacock coloration

Drag the sliding bar to see how a peacock can change its feathers.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

VIEW MORE in these related Britannica articles: