Table 1 Comparison of tail masses as a percent of total body mass in mammals and non-mammalian tetrapods. Note that the available data for mammals is disproportionately focused on taxa with large tails (Macropodiformes and prehensile-tailed taxa), the average mammal (e.g., Canis, Felis, Peromyscus) typically has a much smaller tail
From: Occipital condyle width (OCW) is a highly accurate predictor of body mass in therian mammals
Taxon | Group | Family | % Tail mass | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alligator mississippiensis | Sauropsida | Alligatoridae | 24.5% | [103] |
Alligator mississippiensis | Sauropsida | Alligatoridae | 27.8% | [104] |
Iguana iguana | Sauropsida | Iguanidae | 18.8% | [102] |
Christinus marmoratus | Sauropsida | Gekkonidae | 20–24% | [105] |
Eublepharis macularius | Sauropsida | Gekkonidae | 22% | [106] |
Plethodon cinereus | Caudata | Plethodontidae | 15–20% | [107] |
Macaca fascicularis | Mammalia | Cercopithecidae | 4% | [108] |
Macaca fuscata | Mammalia | Cercopithecidae | 0.1% | [108] |
Macaca nemestrina | Mammalia | Cercopithecidae | 0.2% | [108] |
Ateles sp. | Mammalia | Atelidae | 7.8% | [108] |
Alouatta caraya | Mammalia | Atelidae | 5.5% | [108] |
Cebus sp. | Mammalia | Cebidae | 5.4% | [108] |
Saguinus Oedipus | Mammalia | Callitrichidae | 3.0% | [108] |
Aotus trivirgatus | Mammalia | Aotidae | 4.2% | [108] |
Perodicticus potto | Mammalia | Lorisidae | 0.4% | [108] |
Otolemur crassicaudatus | Mammalia | Galagidae | 4.3% | [108] |
Galago senegalensis | Mammalia | Galagidae | 2.5% | [108] |
Tupaia glis | Mammalia | Tupaiidae | 2.6% | [108] |
Dasyprocta aguti | Mammalia | Caviidae | < 0.1% | [102] |
Dolichotis salinicola | Mammalia | Caviidae | 0.0% | [102] |
Dinomys branickii | Mammalia | Dinomyidae | 1.1% | [109] |
Erethizon dorsatum | Mammalia | Erethizontidae | 3.3% | [109] |
Coendou prehensilis | Mammalia | Erethizontidae | 8.7% | [109] |
Peromyscus maniculatus | Mammalia | Cricetidae | 1.0–4.0% | [110] |
Canis familiaris | Mammalia | Canidae | 0.4% | [108] |
Felis catus | Mammalia | Felidae | 1.3% | [108] |
Bradypus variegatus | Mammalia | Bradypodidae | < 0.1% | [102] |
Choloepus hoffmanni | Mammalia | Choloepodidae | < 0.1% | [102] |
Didelphis marsupialis | Mammalia | Didelphidae | 3.0% | [108] |
Macropus rufus | Mammalia | Macropodidae | 7.0% | [111] |
Dendrolagus matschiei | Mammalia | Macropodidae | 5.0% | [111] |
Potorous apicalus | Mammalia | Potoroidae | 3.0% | [111] |
Pseudocheirus peregrinus | Mammalia | Pseudocheiridae | 7.0% | [111] |