ELI5, If most non human animals have tails for balance,

Question

Why do animals like lizards need tails if their center of gravity is so close to the ground? Is it purely for mobility at that point? I don’t fully understand it

In: 1

Answer 1

We suspect many animals use them for balance, and even have REALLY good evidence of it in many species like cats. The truth is that it’s just never been much of an evolutionary disadvantage for many animals that have them. Also, other animals use their tails completely differently than others and the tail provided an evolutionary advantage, thing of monkeys with prehensile tails used for climbing. Many lizards can drop their tails which gives them a chance to get away while the predator is eating the tail, also providing an evolutionary advantage.