The growth and development of the fox's nine tails?

Just wondering both out of curiosity and something to add to my book, how do the nine tailed fox's dreads grow and developed? This is what I wrote so far.

To start the extra tails are actually massive dreads of matted fur extending from the hindquarter which are religiously groomed and stretched with teeth and tongue to resemble a real tail.

Each new dread appears through age.

At the base of the tails there are long, thick hairs which are similar to spines of a hedgehog or a porcupine which help erect them as the fox flares the tails up in a shimmering fan position, which helps with both sexual display and aposematic display.

The problem is how the dreads (first as fur from the fox's rear) are developed and grown before the fox obviously stretch and groom them. I mean what could cause the fur to become dreads through evolution?

posted about 8 years ago

Alexander R. Hunt‭

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