WASHINGTON — Our very ancient animal ancestors had tails. Why don’t we? Somewhere around 20 million or 25 million years ago, when apes diverged from monkeys, our branch of the tree of life shed tails.

Losing their kitten features is part of every cat’s growth journey, but the process rarely follows a predictable path. What starts out small and subtle can turn bold and exaggerated as time passes.

Lemurs, lizards, whales — all are famed for their tails in some way. But which animal has the longest tail of all? In proportion to their bodies, grass lizards have the longest tails of any known ...

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