Polydactyl Pterodactyls

     So I'm actually not gonna talk about dinosaurs. I am going to talk about chickens though, and that's basically the same thing. Polydactyly is when an animal exhibits more digits in the hand or foot than normal. This is seen in multiple species, like cats, lizards, chickens, and even humans.

     A well known breed that has polydactyl feet is the Silkie chicken breed. They commonly have 1 or 2 extra digits on their feet. There are also quite a few other heritage breeds that showcase this defect.

     One species that many people are aware of for having extra toes is the cat. Normally, cats have five toes on the front paws and four on the hind paws. There are multiple cases where cats have "thumbs" though. Often there are extra toes on the front paws and not the back. There are even two specific breeds that have arisen out of this mutation, the American Polydactyl and the Maine Coon Polydactyl. Jake, a cat from Canada, holds the record for most toes, which is 28. That's 7 on each foot! The extra toes are very helpful for they assist in climbing, hunting, and dexterity.