• Question: why do we have finger nails

    Asked by jonesy96 to Meeks, Pete, Stephen, Steve, Tom on 19 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Marieke Navin

      Marieke Navin answered on 18 Jun 2010:

      I heard that they are horny extensions of our skin…they’re useful for lots of things including itching

    • Photo: Stephen Curry

      Stephen Curry answered on 19 Jun 2010:

      Hello Jonesy96 – My guess is that they are a remnant from our ancestors who have claws at the ends of their fingers that are useful for climbing (to escape predators) or fighting or breaking open hard fruits.

      Our claws are less sharp and have migrated to the tops of our fingers because we have less use for them – it is more important to be able to make delicate manipulations with our finger tips which are highly sensitive (they have lots of nerve endings).

      But that is mostly speculation on my part. What I do know is that evolution has a tremendous capacity for adapting things (such as claws) for different uses. Did you ever read about the panda’s thumb…?

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