DOCTORS were left baffled after a baby was born with a bizarre 12cm tail from its bottom with a flesh ball attached on the end.

       The baby, born at Albert Sabin Children's Hospital in Fortaleza, Brazil, is one of just 40 recorded to ever be born with a true human tail.

       4

       Doctors in Brazil were left baffled after a baby was born with a bizarre tail with a flesh ball attached Credit: Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports

       Medics have surgically removed both the "chain and ball", which was only spotted after he was born.

       The birth and the subsequent surgery have since been logged in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports, which explains how the "rare congenital anomaly" came to be.

       It's believed that we all had a tail when we were in the womb but it is usually reabsorbed into the body a few weeks after gestation.

       Doctors say this is one of the incredibly rare instances that the tail had continued to grow.

       The journal report says that the first record of such a tail dates back to the 19th century but the science behind it "is not fully understood".

       Analysis of the baby's tail after the surgery revealed that the 4cm-wide ball was made of fat and embryonic connective tissue, whereas the tail itself was just boneless tissue.

       Most read in News

       Latest

       PADDLE ARREST Woman arrested on 'gross negligence manslaughter' as 4th paddleboarder dies

       Breaking

       FESTIVAL HORROR 8 dead after crowd surges towards stage at Travis Scott's sold-out show

       Exclusive

       CHANNEL CRISIS Record 853 migrants make it to UK in 1 day sparking huge new row with France

       Exclusive

       STRIPPED Harry banned from wearing military uniform when dishing out awards to war heroes

       SHOP HORROR I've spent two years looking for a school uniform for my 7st7 six year-old son

       Exclusive

       BEST OF THE LOTTO Scratchcard odds REVEALED: the best five cards to scoop a prize

       The child was born prematurely at 35 weeks in January this year, but no complication was found except the tail - which wasn't picked up by tests before the birth.

       But luckily an ultrasound scan confirmed that it wasn't attached to the child's nervous system.

       This allowed surgeons to remove it, but it is not yet clear whether it was causing the baby pain or if the parents requested the tail to be chopped.

       Human's ape ancestors are thought to have lost their tails around 25 million years ago, possibly due to a genetic mutation that improved our upright mobility.

       4

       Analysis shows that the ball was made of fat and embryonic connective tissue, whereas the tail itself was just boneless tissue Credit: Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports 4

       Doctors say the science behind why some embryonic tails aren't reabsorbed "is not fully understood" Credit: Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports 4

       The chain and the ball have been surgically removed Credit: Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports