Prehensility

Prehensility is the quality of an organ that has adapted for grasping or holding. Examples of prehensile body parts include the tails of New World monkeys and opossums, the trunks of elephants, the tongues of giraffes, the lips of horses and the proboscides of tapir. The hands of primates are all prehensile to varying degrees, and many species (even a few humans) have prehensile feet as well. The claws of cats are also prehensile.

Proboscises are evolutionary adaptations that have allowed species to have a great natural advantage for manipulating their environment for feeding, digging, and defense. It enables many specialized animals such as primates to use tools in order to complete tasks that would otherwise be impossible. For example, chimpanzees have the ability to use sticks to fish for termites and grub.

The word is derived from the Latin term prehendere, meaning "to grasp."

See also

• Prehensile feet
• Prehensile tail

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