"Red Dragon"  wrote in
news:c2ng7t$2ri8$1{at}darwin.ediacara.org: 

> 
> The other thing I notice is that  the fingers of the Apith possess
> nails that are flat. and weak ( as also the Homo)  whereas their 
> ancestor  had claws that are sharp, stiff and hard.  Why had this
> happened?   Why and how are the nails more favourable that claws?  I
> see nails have little usefulness functionally.   Human do need to trim
> their nails periodically. Do you know how does the Chimp keep its
> nails short and manageable? 

AFAIK all primates have a nail on the thumb, and many have nails on all 
digits. But I do not know whether wear keeps nails short or whether other 
primates besides humans chew their nails.

Yours,

Bill Morse
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