autotomy
Sign in to savethumb|A white-headed dwarf gecko with tail lost due to autotomy Autotomy ('self-amputation', from the Ancient Greek auto-, "self-" and tome, "severing") is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards an appendage, usually as a self-preservation mechanism to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape. Some animals are able to regenerate the lost body part later. Autotomy is thought to have evolved independently at least nine times. The term was coined in 1883 by Léon Fredericq.
Article
17 sectionsContents
- Vertebrates
- Reptiles and amphibians
- Mechanism
- Effectiveness and costs
- Autotomy in the fossil record
- Mammals
- Fish
- Invertebrates
- Molluscs
- Crustaceans
- Spiders
- Bees and wasps
- Echinoderms
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|A white-headed dwarf gecko with tail lost due to autotomy Autotomy ('self-amputation', from the Ancient Greek auto-, "self-" and tome, "severing") is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards an appendage, usually as a self-preservation mechanism to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape. Some animals are able to regenerate the lost body part later. Autotomy is thought to have evolved independently at least nine times. The term was coined in 1883 by Léon Fredericq.
==Vertebrates==