dholokov

So I've always thought how cool it would be to have a prehensile tail - a fully articulated tail that can move objects , pick things up, and support my body weight. Then I was talking to my neighbour who is taking a course in primatology. She told me that primates that have prehensile tails cannot move their arms above their shoulders! This is because primates with prehensile tails usually run through or on top of the jungle canopy, and their tails are used for balance. They never had to develop the arm musclature to swing from branch to branch, so their arms don't go up as high. This is the Faustian bargain that all primates must make at some point in their evolution.

So now I'm not so thrilled about this tail business. But life sure would be different if we had tails, but couldn't move our arms above our shoulders -

-no rave culture if can't dance with hands up in the air
-instead of chin-ups, tail-ups!
-jokes about 'how many whatever's does it take to screw in a lightbulb' are less funny, because it would always take more than one person to do it in real life. Watching people try to install lightbulbs with tails, though, that would be funny.

I might put some fan art up later in the week, if anyone cares, which they probably do not. I have Monday and Tuesday off, too....

edited to add a very small picture of cassiopeia



edited further to add how much cooler it looks acutal size...