The tail bone is not vestigial since there are nine muscles that attach to it
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Claim
The human tail bone is not vestigial since there are nine muscles that attach to it, such as the gluteus maximus, and those necessary for defecation.
Source
- Jack Chick, Big Daddy?, Chick Publications [1]
- Camp, Ashby, 2001. A Critique of Douglas Theobald’s “29 Evidences for Macroevolution�?: ANATOMICAL VESTIGIAL STRUCTURES. [2]
- Dembski, William A., 1998 (Oct.). Science and Design. First Things 86: 21-27. [3]
Responses
- Vestigial does not mean "functionless." Even if the tail bone does have a function, that doesn't refute it's status as a vestigial trait nor does it refute the evidence for common descent that the tail bone provides.
- The tail bone of humans is regarded as being vestigial because it, along with the tail bones of all other apes, directly corresponds to the tails of monkeys, which use their tails as organs of balance. Given as how both humans, and all other apes no longer need tails to maintain their balance, scientists are totally justified in saying that the tail bone is vestigial.
- Being the attachment site of muscles is not strong evidence of usefulness. If the tailbone is retained, then it make sense that structures associated with it might be retained as well: evolution has no intelligent "garbage collection" routine that knows to clean out certain structures as they become obsolete or unnecessary. The development of both bones and muscles are closely linked together: if a vestigial structure is made of bone then having muscles attached to it is only natural.
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Fallacies contained in this claim
Related claims
- Vestigial organs are just evidence of decay, not evolution
- Vestigial organs may have functions
- Whales' pelvis bones serve as anchor points for muscles
- Without the pelvis whales cannot reproduce
