Humans with a scorpion-like tail?
I'm trying to create a new race of humanoids that are in appearance almost identical to humans with one exception: They have an extension of their spine protruding from their back, much like a tail. It would however be very long and be used similarly to a scorpion's tail, minus the poison. The way I envisioned it is: it would appear as if it's only bone, similiar in appearance to a human spine, but longer and meant as a weapon, tool for movement (like a spring for long distance jumps) etc.
My concern for this idea is the following: Would the humanoid have any control over the 'limb', considering there is no muscle around the bone? Do I specifically need muscles to be able to control it or is there another solution?
if there are any additional details necessary, I'd be glad to provide.
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/q/101005. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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Let's take inspiration from the claws of mantis shrimp. Their club- or spear-like claws are deployed by flexing and releasing bands of chitin. In the same way, your creature's tail would need such a structure, and there would need to be a strong group of muscles at the base. Also, just as the shrimp's claws can pretty much do just this one thing (i.e. club or spear at high speed) your creature's tail would not have fine control, just coil and strike once every couple of seconds.
This post was sourced from https://worldbuilding.stackexchange.com/a/101006. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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