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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.
Slender glass lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus)Ophisaurus (from the Greek 'snake-lizard') is a genus of superficially snake-like legless lizards in the subfamily Anguinae.Known as joint snakes, glass snakes, or glass lizards, they are so-named because their tails are easily broken; like many lizards, they have the ability to deter predation by dropping off part of the tail, which can break into ...
The pieces of tail will continue to move once broken off. Two common beliefs are that the pieces of broken tail can grow into new lizards or rejoin into a new tail. [12] In a 1989 study, 79% of the specimens in the population area had broken tails. [10] It is hard to find a slender glass lizard that has its entire tail.
Saururus cernuus is a herbaceous perennial that gets its most frequent common name, lizard's tail, from its white flowers that bloom in the summer months. [2] The inflorescence is usually 6 to 8 in long. [3] After floral maturity the white flowers turn brown, giving the plant its namesake, lizard's tail. [3]
The western skink (Plestiodon skiltonianus) is a species of small, smooth-scaled lizard with relatively small limbs. It measures about 100 to 210 mm (about 4 to 8.25 inches) in total length (body + tail). It is one of seven species of lizards in Canada. They spend much of their day basking in the sun.
The western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) is a species of lizard native to Arizona, New Mexico, and California, as well as Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Northern Mexico. The species is widely found in its native range and is considered common, often being seen in yards, or as the name implies, on fences.
Aspidoscelis costatus males, like the majority of other lizards, reproduce through cloaca, which is an orifice, sort of semicircular-shaped, located in the ventral side (underside) of the tail base of the lizard, just distal to its hindlegs. Digestive wastes like urine and feces are eliminated through cloaca.
Lizard tail autotomy can distract predators, continuing to writhe while the lizard makes its escape. Some animals are capable of autotomy (self-amputation), shedding one of their own appendages in a last-ditch attempt to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape.