How is the lizard's tail separated?

You have often seen that when a lizard is attacked it loses its tail, not because of the attack of the hunter, but because the lizard separates its tail from its body, its purpose being to deceive the hunter. Yes, the hunter is attracted to the tail and the lizard finds a way to escape. There are other animals, including lizards, that separate their limbs from the body to avoid predation and danger. In scientific parlance, this procedure is called Autotomy, and the separation of the tail is specifically called caudal autotomy.

How is the tail separated?

There are two ways to separate the tails of lizards.

👈 In one method, the tail is broken between the vertebrae in the tail, that is, the part between the two vertebrae is separated. This part is slightly weaker, which separates with a slight push. This procedure is called intervertebral autotomy.

👈 The second and more common method is a weak part of the vertebrae called bone fracture planes. When the lizard has to separate its tail, it uses its tail muscles to push the fracture planes, which break apart.

Where the tail breaks, there are special types of sphincter muscles that do not allow blood to come out. In addition, broken skin flaps attach quickly to prevent infection.

Why is the broken breath

The neurons in the tail continue to give nerve impulses to the tail muscles shortly after the rupture, causing the ruptured tail to shake, and can shake for about half an hour.

Why does the hunter go to the tail?

The tail is moving very fast, besides the color of the tail is also attractive. At the same time, the hunter's main goal is to get food, so he prefers to eat the tail rather than run away.

Damages of broken breath and what but break

Lizards without tails are weaker than other lizards. Tails are not only used to fight each other but also store food (fat). In addition, there are fewer opportunities to mate and breed a lizard without a tail.

Most lizards regenerate, while some lizards and other animals cannot regain that part of their body after autotomy. It takes a lot of energy to breathe again, for which these lizards have to hunt more and at the same time have to slow down to save energy. The new tail is smaller and lighter in color than the first, and has no bones, but is made of cartilage (the same cartilage from which our noses and ears are made).

It can take from a few weeks to several months for a new tail to grow.

In which animals Autotomy occur?

Many reptiles, including lizards, do autotomy, in addition to salamanders like amphibians, some snakes also do autotomy. Mammals have the ability to autotomy two species of African spiny mice, which perform autotomy of their skin. In addition, about 200 species of invertebrates have the potential for autonomy.

Can a man reproduce the desires of his body?

With this topic, it is often asked whether human beings can do the same as these animals regenerate their body parts.

This is because the human arm or leg is a more complex organ than the tail of a lizard. The cells of these parts cannot perform such a high-distribution process, nor have we ever found functional genes for such regeneration in our DNA. However, the human body can regenerate to some extent, such as the formation of new skin, and the injury to broken parts of the body (such as bone, etc.).