Aprehensile tail is the tail of an animal that hasadapted to grasp or hold objects.^[1] Fullyprehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and eating food in the trees. If the tail cannot be used for this it is considered only partially prehensile; such tails are often used to anchor an animal's body to dangle from abranch, or as an aid for climbing. The termprehensile means "able to grasp" (from the Latinprehendere, to take hold of, to grasp).^[2]

One point of interest is the distribution of animals with prehensile tails. The prehensile tail is predominantly aNew World adaptation, especially among mammals.^[1] Many more animals inSouth America have prehensile tails than inAfrica and Southeast Asia. It has been argued that animals with prehensile tails are more common in South America because theforest there is denser than in Africa or Southeast Asia.^[3] In contrast, less dense forests such as in Southeast Asia have been observed to have more abundantgliding animals such ascolugos orflying snakes; few gliding vertebrates are found in South America. South American rainforests also differ by having morelianas, as there are fewer large animals to eat them than in Africa and Asia; the presence of lianas may aid climbers but obstruct gliders.^[4]Australia-New Guinea contains manymammals with prehensile tails and also many mammals which can glide; in fact, all Australian mammalian gliders have tails that are prehensile to an extent.

Tails are mostly a feature ofvertebrates; however, someinvertebrates such asscorpions also haveappendages that can be considered tails. However, only vertebrates are known to have developed prehensile tails. Many mammals with prehensile tails will have a bare patch to aid gripping. This bare patch is known as a "friction pad".

• Seahorses. Seahorses have fully prehensile tails, which they use to attach themselves to objects such as seagrass, algae, sponges, corals, or even man-made objects.^[5]

• Binturong. One of the fewOld World animals with fully prehensile tails, although they use only the tip of the tail.^[6]
• Harvest mouse. Another Old World mammal, theharvest mouse (Micromys minutus) also has a fully prehensile tail. It is commonly found amongst areas of tall grasses such as cereal crops (particularly wheat and oats), roadside verges, hedgerows, reedbeds, dykes and salt-marshes.^[7]
• Tree pangolin. One of the few Old World mammals with a fully prehensile tail.^[7]
• Microgale longicaudata, an arboreal species of thetenrec family.^[8]
• Platypus. The semi-aquaticmonotreme found inAustralia. Much the same as Opossums, Platypuses gather leaves to line their nests, using their tails to carry the materials they've collected.^[9]
• New World monkeys. Many New World monkeys in the familyAtelidae, which includeshowler monkeys,spider monkeys andwoolly monkeys, have grasping tails often with a baretactile pad. This is in contrast with their distantOld World monkey cousins who do not have prehensile tails.^[1]
• New World porcupines of the generaCoendou andChaetomys have fully prehensile tails that help them to climb and prevent them from falling from trees.^[2]
• Opossum. Amarsupial group from the New World. Native to theAmericas, the tail is occasionally used as a grip to carry bunches of leaves or bedding materials to the nest.^[10]
• Anteaters. Anteaters are found in Central and South America. Nine of the ten species of anteater, the seven species of silky anteater and the two species of tamandua, have prehensile tails.^[11]
• Kinkajou. The kinkajou of South and Central America is the only other animal of the orderCarnivora, besides the binturong, to sport the adaptation.^[3]

• New World monkeys. Thecapuchin monkey. The capuchin is more than intelligent enough to make full use of its prehensile tail, but since the tail lacks an area of bare skin for a good grip it is only used in climbing and dangling. Other reasons for partial prehensility might include the lack of strength or flexibility in the tail, or simply having no need to manipulate objects with it.
• Tree porcupines. The 15 species of tree porcupine (genusCoendou). They are found in South America, with one species extending to Mexico. All have prehensile tails.
• Rats have been known to be able to wrap the tail around an object after running around it, therefore giving the creature a small bit of balance. They have also been seen to be able to briefly hang off an object, though not for long.
• Possums. This large, diverse group of 63 species forms the marsupial suborderPhalangeriformes, found in Australia,New Guinea, and some nearby islands. All members of the suborder have prehensile tails; however, the tails of some members such as theAcrobatidae have only limited prehensile capacity.^[12] Notably, all three marsupial glider groups belong to this suborder.
• Potoroidae. A marsupial group found in Australia that includes thebettongs and thepotoroos. They have weakly prehensile tails.^[12]
• Monito del monte. A small South American marsupial with a prehensile tail.^[8]

• Prehensile-tailed skink. Several kinds ofskink (e.g.Corucia zebrata) have partially prehensile tails.^[13]
• Chameleons.^[14]
• Snakes. Many snakes have partially prehensile tails (or partially prehensile body)
• Crested gecko and their relatives have prehensile tails^[14]
• Alligator lizard. Some alligator lizards such as thesouthern alligator lizard, theTexas alligator lizard, and thearboreal alligator lizards (genusAbronia) have prehensile tails.^[14]
• Big-headed turtle, and juvenile specimens of the familyChelydridae.
• Urocoyledon rasmusseni^[15]

• Salamanders. A number of North American forest-dwellingclimbing salamanders have prehensile tails that help them climb. Some are from the genusAneides such as theclouded salamander (Aneides ferreus), thewandering salamander (Aneides vagrans), and thearboreal salamander (Aneides lugubris). Others are the largeRed Hills salamander (Phaeognathus hubrichti) and thecave salamander (Eurycea lucifuga).^[16] There are also the Central AmericanBolitoglossa sombra and Mexican and Central AmericanBolitoglossa mexicana salamanders.

• Syngnathidae. Many species from this group, which includesseahorses^[17] andpipefish, have prehensile tails.

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• Vertebrate anatomy

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