The rump or croup, in the external morphology of an animal, is the portion of the posterior dorsum – that is, posterior to the loins and

anterior Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position pro ...

to the

tail The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolution, evolved to los ...

. Anatomically, the rump corresponds to the

sacrum The sacrum (: sacra or sacrums), in human anatomy, is a triangular bone at the base of the spine that forms by the fusing of the sacral vertebrae (S1S5) between ages 18 and 30. The sacrum situates at the upper, back part of the pelvic cavity, ...

. The tailhead or dock is the beginning of the tail, where the tail joins the rump. It is known also as the base or root of the tail, and corresponds to the human sacrococcygeal symphysis. In some

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

s the tail may be said to consist of the tailbone (meaning the bony column, muscles, and skin) and the skirt (meaning the long hairs growing from the tailbone). In birds, similarly, the tail consists of tailbone and tailfan (tail fan). Some animals are subjected to docking, the

amputation Amputation is the removal of a Limb (anatomy), limb or other body part by Physical trauma, trauma, medical illness, or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as cancer, malign ...

of the tailbone at or near the dock. These include dogs, cats,

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

, pigs, and

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s. Humans have a remnant tail, the

coccyx The coccyx (: coccyges or coccyxes), commonly referred to as the tailbone, is the final segment of the vertebral column in all apes, and analogous structures in certain other mammals such as horse anatomy, horses. In tailless primates (e.g. hum ...

, and the human equivalent of docking is coccygectomy. Usage varies from animal to animal.

Bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

are said to have a rump and tailhead. Dogs are said to have a rump and dock.

Horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s are said to have a croup"How do I...Identify Parts of the Horse" ''Arabian Horse Association''
croup) (sometimes rump), thigh or haunch, buttock, and dock.

Dogs

In some breeds it is traditional for tails to be cut off ( docked) at the dock.

Birds

In bird anatomy, the rump is the body immediately above the tail. The color of plumage on the rump is a characteristic widely used by

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

s to distinguish between related species, and sometimes also between males and females of the same species. Similarly, the

silhouette A silhouette (, ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhouett ...

of the tailfan is a characteristic widely used for purposes of identification, particularly in the field. Some birds have a food reservoir pouch in the

esophagus The esophagus (American English), oesophagus (British English), or œsophagus (Œ, archaic spelling) (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, see spelling difference) all ; : ((o)e)(œ)sophagi or ((o)e)(œ)sophaguses), c ...

that is known as a

croup Croup ( ), also known as croupy cough, is a type of respiratory infection that is usually caused by a virus. The infection leads to swelling inside the trachea, which interferes with normal breathing and produces the classic symptoms of "bar ...

(or crop), which should not be confused with the croup (rump) of a horse.

Horses

In equine anatomy, the croup refers specifically to the topline of the horse's hindquarters and surrounding musculature, beginning at the hip, extending proximate to the sacral vertebrae and stopping at the dock of the

(where the coccygeal vertebrae begin). Below the croup is the thigh or haunch. Behind the thigh is the

buttock The buttocks (: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed of a laye ...

. On

s appearing in

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

s and other public ceremonies, the croup may be decorated with

quarter marks Quarter marks are a type of ornamentation on a horse seen in certain types of exhibition or competition. Typically, these marks are found on the rump (animal), croup of the animal and are created by combing its hair in different directions, creatin ...

, a grooming pattern made in the horse's hair by applying hair gel or spray, then brushing patches of hair in opposite directions. Applied to horses, the term "dock" has two additional uses. Its meaning may be extended to either the entire

minus the skirt (i.e., synonymous with tailbone) or the tailhead only. In other equidae, it encompasses most of the tailbone, as most of that portion of the tail does not have long hairs. A lack of long hairs can be natural, as in

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...

donkey The donkey or ass is a domesticated equine. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a separate species, ''Equus asinus''. It was domes ...

s, and the Przewalski horse, or artificial, the result of pulling, trimming, or shaving part of the skirt (see Horse grooming and

Tail (horse) The tail of the horse and other equines consists of two parts, the dock and the skirt. The dock consists of the muscles and skin covering the coccygeal vertebrae. The term "skirt" refers to the long hairs that fall below the dock. On a hor ...

). A sponge used to wash the hairless skin on the underside of the dock and other regions under the tail, protected by the dock, is called a dock sponge. Thus, the meaning of "dock" has been used to refer to the orifices beneath the dock, specifically the

anus In mammals, invertebrates and most fish, the anus (: anuses or ani; from Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is the external body orifice at the ''exit'' end of the digestive tract (bowel), i.e. the opposite end from the mouth. Its function is to facil ...

and

vagina In mammals and other animals, the vagina (: vaginas or vaginae) is the elastic, muscular sex organ, reproductive organ of the female genital tract. In humans, it extends from the vulval vestibule to the cervix (neck of the uterus). The #Vag ...

, creating a misapprehension that "dock" refers to the anus, as in, ''a horse's fundamental orifice is its dock''., page 49 File:Motifs croupe cheval Garde Républicaine détail.jpg,

Quarter marks Quarter marks are a type of ornamentation on a horse seen in certain types of exhibition or competition. Typically, these marks are found on the rump (animal), croup of the animal and are created by combing its hair in different directions, creatin ...

in checkerboard pattern on a horse's croup File:Zebra Rear 02.jpg, Zebra with "long dock" (short hair portion) with the skirt only near the end of the tail

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rump (Animal) Bird anatomy Dog anatomy Horse anatomy Mammal anatomy