Andrew Smith The thumb

 

       The thumb is arguably the best adaptation humans have. We don’t think about it, and we take if for granted, but the thumb is used everyday, and makes things so much easier. However we didn’t always have thumbs, nor are we the only ones who have them. The first actual record of a thumb, was back when the Dinosaurs roamed the Earth, the most known is probably the iguanodon. So thumbs have been around for a long time, even sauropods that walked on all 4 legs seemed to have some resemblance in their feet to a thumb bone, But what about with humans?

One of the earliest apes (even before the Humans) that had a thumb was called the Proconsul; This ape lived around 17-23 Million years ago, Although not human, they evolved from the same  relative (The

Kenyapithecus) they are one of the first mammals on record to have a thumb. The first humans ever were the Homo habilis, they too had a thumb. 

            This all just means the thumb is a hard evolutionary trait to trace, they appeared way before humans and apes, but did not appear to be used as an opposable thumb until the first mammals.  Now here are some pictures of animals with thumbs:

https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1aGRxhoUyjJzfjckBhehzwz2vIjYCDi7MuhqcoAKhK5g