Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A white-headed dwarf gecko with tail lost due to autotomy. Autotomy (from the Greek auto-, "self-" and tome, "severing", αὐτοτομία) or 'self-amputation', is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards an appendage, [1] usually as a self-defense mechanism to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape.
The ability and degree of regeneration in reptiles differs among the various species (see [111]), but the most notable and well-studied occurrence is tail-regeneration in lizards. [112] [113] [114] In addition to lizards, regeneration has been observed in the tails and maxillary bone of crocodiles and adult neurogenesis has also been noted.
Hox genes play a massive role in some amphibians and reptiles in their ability to regenerate lost limbs, especially HoxA and HoxD genes. [1]If the processes involved in forming new tissue can be reverse-engineered into humans, it may be possible to heal injuries of the spinal cord or brain, repair damaged organs and reduce scarring and fibrosis after surgery.
The tail drops off and wriggles around for a while after an attack, and the salamander either runs away or stays still enough not to be noticed while the predator is distracted. The tail regrows with time, and salamanders routinely regenerate other complex tissues, including the lens or retina of the eye. Within only a few weeks of losing a ...
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 evolved to lose their tails (e.g. frogs and hominid primates ), the coccyx is the homologous vestigial of the tail.
Unlike Correlophus cilliatus, R. leachianus are capable of tail regeneration through a process known as epimorphosis. Males and females of R. leachianus display differentiating morphological characteristics known as sexual dimorphism. Male R. leachianus display a hemipenal bulge at the base of the tail, whereas females do not have this bulge.
Snake scales also appear to have affected Islamic art in the form of tessellated mosaic patterns which show great similarity to snake-scale patterns. [37] Snakeskin, with its highly periodic cross-hatch or grid patterns, appeals to people's aesthetics and have been used to manufacture many leather articles including fashionable accessories. [37]
Between the inner layer and the outer layer lies the dermis, which contains all the pigments and cells that make up the snake's distinguishing pattern and color. The epidermis, or outer layer, is formed of a substance called keratin , which in mammals is the same basic material that forms nails, claws, and hair.