Analyses based on the function of false thumb in animals possessing false thumbs

Abstract. Throughout history, changes in climate in their living environments have led some animals to evolve a mysterious and fascinating structure, such as a false thumb. It evolved from radial sesamoid bone. It possesses functions such as grasping, deafferentation, and weight bearing. The possession of a false thumb is one of the most conspicuous cases of convergence in vertebrates. This study analyses the function as well as the morphology of the false thumbs of six animals with false thumbs. Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), red panda (Ailurus fulgens), mole, aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) and spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) separately. And based on the Darwinian theory of evolution, there are conjectures about the mechanism behind the creation of this false thumb phenomenon. An explanation of why all these animals with false thumbs chose to evolve radial seed bones instead of modifying their existing fingers is given from a philosophical as well as a Darwinian evolutionary perspective.