I agree that most Kinked tails are due to minor trauma. But there may be
> genetic element. Spinal defects are commonly inherited. it is certainly
> something to look out for.
>
> --
> Julian
Well, I wonder about a nutritional aspect as well. (I just thought of
this). There hasn't been a clear consistency in the litters discussed
(except maybe one or two), in other words, some litters have had a high
ratio and others out of the same pair didn't, and some parents WITH the
trait didn't pass it on in a few generations.
There of course is a precedent for a nutritional cause for kinked tail. In
*H. sapiens* (the species we love...aren't they cute--almost gerbil-like!)
neural tube defects (i.e., spina bifida, anencephaly, and microcephaly) have
been shown to have a strong link to Folic Acid deficiency in early first
trimester and even preconception. In a tailed species, the tail would be
part of the neural tube. Not all nutritionally-deficient pregnancies would
express this trait--it is the deficiency acting upon a genetic tendency that
doesn't express without the deficiency. This would explain how the litters
can be so inconsistent in their expression of kinked tail that is not from
injury.
Maybe it's not even Folic Acid in rodents that does it like in primates...
