Mexican Baby Girl Gets a Real 2-Inch Tail [Look]

Mexican experts saw the healthy birth of a baby girl with a very "rare" 2-inch-long tail coated in "fine hair."

As tails in humans are "extremely infrequent," physicians in Northeastern Mexico were shocked, according to research in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery.

Girl Born With a Rare 6-Centimeter-Long Tail

The mother gave birth to a baby through C-section at a Nuevo Leon hospital. Her parents were in their late 20s and good health.

Indy100 said the 5.7cm (2.2 inches) tail, which was "soft," "covered in skin and fine hair," and had a "pointy" tip, was promptly discovered by the medical staff.

Doctors under the direction of Dr. Josue Rueda think this is the first instance ever reported in Mexico.

According to the doctors, there were no pregnancy-related difficulties, and the baby was born full-term.

There was already a healthy boy that her parents had.

But soon after she was born, medical professionals found the tail.

They said it protruded a little to the left of center from her tailbone.

Its diameter ranged between 3mm and 5mm, getting smaller toward the "pointy" tip.

The infant reportedly wailed as the needle was inserted into the tail.

There was no sign of any malformations or abnormal bone structures in the tail in a subsequent X-ray of the infant.

Considering that there have only been 40 cases reported, the structure was benign and contained mainly fat and tissue.

Fortunately, the baby was totally healthy even though she had a tail.

Medical professionals reexamined the infant two months later and discovered that her weight and development were normal for her age. The infant's tail had also expanded by 0.8 cm at this time.

The tail was cut off after doctors determined it was clear of skin lesions. The region was then rebuilt using a Limberg plasty. This procedure uses tissue from the patient's rear.

A Rare Occurrence

According to the study (per Daily Mail), only 195 occurrences of human "true tails" had been documented as of 2017, with the largest case measuring 20 cm (7.9 inches).

One in every 17 newborns with tails also has a brain or skull development issue, and they are more frequently discovered in boys.

Doctors don't know what causes them, and there is just one known instance of them running in families. They are typically not discovered until after a baby is delivered.

When our ancestors split from monkeys some 20 million years ago, we also lost our tails and ape relatives.

Human tails are revered and regarded as holy in several religions and societies.

Check out more news and information on Babies in Science Times.