A grooming claw (or toilet claw) is the specialized claw or nail on the foot of certain

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

s, used for personal grooming. All prosimians have a grooming claw, but the digit that is specialized in this manner varies.

Tarsier Tarsiers ( ) are haplorhine primates of the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. Although the group was once more widespread, all of its species living today are found in Maritime Southeast ...

s have a grooming claw on second and third

toe Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plant ...

s. In the suborder

Strepsirrhini Strepsirrhini or Strepsirhini (; ) is a Order (biology), suborder of primates that includes the Lemuriformes, lemuriform primates, which consist of the lemurs of Fauna of Madagascar, Madagascar, galagos ("bushbabies") and pottos from Fauna of A ...

, which includes lemurs, galagos and

lorises Loris is the common name for the strepsirrhine mammals of the subfamily Lorinae (sometimes spelled Lorisinae) in the family Lorisidae. ''Loris'' is one genus in this subfamily and includes the slender lorises, ''Nycticebus'' is the genus contain ...

, the grooming claw is on the second toe. Less commonly known, a grooming claw is also found on the second pedal digit of night monkeys (''Aotus''), titis (''Callicebus''), and possibly other New World monkeys. The first toe is the large one, the equivalent of a human

big toe Toes are the digits (fingers) of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plant ...

. However, in all these prosimians the foot is more or less hand-like. The first toe is opposable, like a human

thumb The thumb is the first digit of the hand, next to the index finger. When a person is standing in the medical anatomical position (where the palm is facing to the front), the thumb is the outermost digit. The Medical Latin English noun for thumb ...

, and the second and third toes correspond approximately to the index and middle fingers. Like a claw or a nail, the grooming claw is also made of

keratin Keratin () is one of a family of structural fibrous proteins also known as ''scleroproteins''. Alpha-keratin (α-keratin) is a type of keratin found in vertebrates. It is the key structural material making up scales, hair, nails, feathers, ho ...

. It resembles a claw in both its lateral compression and longitudinal curvature. However, the tip is not as pointed, and it always stands at a steeper angle, a characteristic that also distinguishes it from a nail.

Function

The grooming claw is used in personal grooming to rake through the fur or scratch, particularly around the head and neck.

References

External links

* {{commons category-inline, Toilet claws Primate anatomy Nails (anatomy)