{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.tail","code":"thing-q60960","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q60960/","name":"tail","alternateNames":["eel tail","stockfish tail","Red fox tails","prehensile tail","asp tail","crayfish tail","fish tail","lamprey tail","otter tail","northern pike tail","tail fan","rabbit tail"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.OBJ"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"The rear appendage of many animals, an extension of the body beyond the trunk, usually supported by caudal vertebrae in vertebrates, used for balance, locomotion, communication, defence and grasping, as in the prehensile tails of some monkeys and opossums, fish tails for propulsion and the tails of foxes, whose bushy tails are called brushes.","purpose":"Let an agent explain tails, relay anatomy, evolution and functions across animals from zoology sources, describe prehensile tails and culinary uses, flag unverified aliases, and distinguish tails from fins, the human coccyx, tails of aircraft and comets, and plant names containing tail.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Posterior appendage","Many functions","Caudal vertebrae","Diverse forms"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What a tail is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is a tail, and how does it differ from fins, the coccyx and tails of aircraft or comets?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about animal biology, pets, food or another sense?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"named","name":"Named","description":"Named forms and uses.","findings":[{"id":"named-finding","name":"Named","description":"Named.","questions":[{"text":"What are prehensile tails and eel, stockfish and crayfish tails, and what might asp tail and red fox tails refer to?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific item?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"biology","name":"Biology","description":"Biology.","layers":[{"id":"functions","name":"Functions","description":"Functions.","findings":[{"id":"functions-finding","name":"Functions","description":"Functions.","questions":[{"text":"How do animals use tails for balance, swimming, signalling and defence?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"evolution","name":"Evolution","description":"Evolution.","findings":[{"id":"evolution-finding","name":"Evolution","description":"Evolution.","questions":[{"text":"How did apes and humans lose external tails, as genetic studies suggest?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"welfare","name":"Welfare","description":"Animal welfare.","layers":[{"id":"docking","name":"Docking","description":"Tail docking.","findings":[{"id":"docking-finding","name":"Docking","description":"Docking.","questions":[{"text":"How is tail docking of dogs and livestock regulated?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits docking (dog)?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"dogs","name":"Dogs","description":"Dog tail signals.","findings":[{"id":"dogs-finding","name":"Dogs","description":"Dogs.","questions":[{"text":"What do tail positions communicate in dogs?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits dog communication?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Food and language.","layers":[{"id":"food","name":"Food","description":"Culinary tails.","findings":[{"id":"food-finding","name":"Food","description":"Food.","questions":[{"text":"How are crayfish, eel and oxtail used in cooking?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits oxtail?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"language","name":"Language","description":"Other senses.","findings":[{"id":"language-finding","name":"Language","description":"Language.","questions":[{"text":"How is tail used for aircraft, comets and statistics?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits comet tail?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe the anatomy and functions of animal tails.","Report injuries or abnormal tail behaviour to an animal's keeper or a veterinarian."],"mustNot":["Pull, cut or hurt an animal's tail.","Recommend tail docking as routine where the law restricts it or without veterinary grounds.","Handle a lizard or other animal by the tail in a way that makes it shed or injures it.","Mix up the anatomical and culinary senses of tail."],"requiresHuman":["Any decision to dock or amputate a tail."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Tail docking is a contested welfare issue in farm animals, dogs and horses.","Tails carry signals that people misread, which can lead to bites and mistreatment."],"affectedParties":["Animals","Keepers and farmers","Veterinarians"]},"owners":{"steward":"The keeper of the animal; for wild animals nobody, under wildlife law.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q13415392","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q25570959","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"appendage","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"prehensile tail","type":"related"},{"target":"caudal vertebrae","type":"related","note":"in vertebrates"},{"target":"coccyx","type":"related"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.tail","Wikidata: Q60960 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60960)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["human vestige: coccyx note","lizard autotomy: tail shedding for defence note","prehensile tails: spider monkeys, opossums, some chameleons list"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["An animal's tail is a rear body appendage.","Examples include prehensile tails and red fox tails, while eel and stockfish name animals or food products rather than tails themselves.","Fins are fish appendages that may include the caudal fin; the coccyx is a vestigial tail; aircraft and comet tails are other senses.","A tapering extension at the rear of an animal s body, furred, scaled or finned."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain anatomy and functions","relay evolution","describe named uses and forms","distinguish other senses"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Mixing culinary and anatomical senses","Welfare issues such as routine tail docking","Unverified aliases"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Animal welfare rules on tail docking","Food labelling for seafood products"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Balance, movement, communication and defence in animals.","prehensile tails","caudal fins","bushy mammal tails","autotomous lizard tails","crustacean abdomens called tails in cooking"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q60960: tail","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q60960","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Tail","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tail","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should culinary tails be separate entries?","How should zoology sources be linked?","The registry aliases asp tail and red fox tails could not be identified and should be reviewed"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q60960/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q60960/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T20:23:44Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:32+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}