Nails like humans and apes have seem pretty weak compared to claws, and even other tree-dwelling species have hooked claws.
In: 591
I would guess better fine motor skills allowing you to do things like braid rope, sew, get seeds from food, etc.
Nails provide counter pressure so we can feel with the ~~fremitus~~ distal phalange of our fingers (front face). Without finger nails there would be little counter pressure and our sense of touch would be much less sensitive.
Edit: this ladies and gentleman, is why you get 3 different college degrees and end up owning a nail salon. To be the top answer on ELI5.
Edit2: thank you for the award!
Edit3: Gold! Thank you thank you!
Edit 4: word correction
Quite many things.
1) nails helps to grab very small things. You cannot do it without nails or barely possible with claws.
2) nails create even carcass which adds supoort beyond fingers bones. That further improve grabbing. Claws makes it harder. That also helps to feel object shape.
3) nails are soft. At any point you can easly bite part off uf they start to makes troubles. Claws are very hard.
4) finger with nails are capable to climb almost on any natural surface, while claws are very efficient on trees and burden on tough surfaces.
Try picking things up off the floor or manipulating things deftly while having claws at the end of your prehensile phalanges.
Nails provide counter pressure to the tips of our fingers. What this means is that they provide some rigidity to our otherwise squishy finger tips which allows us to have fine control and feeling on our finger tips. Nails are not meant to be used for defense, they’re vestigial features. The lack of claws allow for more versatile use of the limbs.
Claws on the other hand provide many benefits such as traction in soft surfaces, the ability to climb much easier, and they can be used as weapons. However they’re vulnerable to breaking and make the limb less suited to more delicate tasks such as manipulating objects and using the limbs as sensory organs.
If I gotta hunt my prey I’mma want some claws. Claws typically come on something that has less dexterity but is very good at putting pressure onto the pointy claw bit for puncturing murder time. The arm is then used for gripping and holding (during murder time) and then if you’re still holding on you’re carrying it away in your mouth, but you might just be done so you’ll be eating there.
If I gotta swing from tree to tree or use a utensil or carry stuff with my hand or do farming (hunter, gatherer, farmer) I need the digits to be less MURDER MODE ONLY and more versatile which means toning down the puncture and lock murder claw to longer slimmer digit with more flexibility and versatility
That’s not to say that one can’t do the job of the other, it’s just evolutionary you get into cycles and when you stop needing to grab puncture murder and need to pick fruits and veggies and chuck a spear into things and take them with you to where ever you’re going
You can try having a claw on your hand right now, strengthen and shape your nails, put animal claws on a glove, but you’re losing a lot of gripping strength not being able to fully close your hand with how the hand has evolved
You are very focused on claws, but that isn’t the only choice. We aren’t tree dwelling species and many animals that live on the ground have hooves or pads rather than claws. Look at the foot of an elephant or a hippo or a deer.
To find the end of a roll of tape.
Seriously tho.we can feel something silly like 10 molecules in height difference by running our finger nails over a smooth surface.
Source: episode of QI
Ooooh this is a good one! I’ve got an answer and beyond all the jargon above it is obviously the correct and evolutionary advantageous answer. It’s so we can pick our nose.
If I had claws, how would I pick up the little washers I dropped on the concrete floor?
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