Autotomy is an adaptive response in which animals escape from predators by shedding their own appendages. It is made possible by the presence of an efficient mechanism for regeneration. Decapod ...

When danger strikes, humans usually have two choices — run or fight. But in the wild, some animals have figured out a third, much stranger option: drop part of their own body to survive. It’s called ...

Lizards possess a remarkable self-defense mechanism called autotomy, where they detach their tails to evade predators. The detached tail continues to wriggle due to reflexive nerve activity, ...

Photograph of a specimen of the common European starfish Asterias rubens with a regenerating arm. Starfish shed arms (autotomy) when attacked by predators and then regenerate a new arm to replace the ...

For many creatures, having a limb caught in a predator’s mouth is usually a death sentence. Not starfish, though—they can detach the limb and leave the predator something to chew on while they crawl ...

At least two species of sacoglossan sea slugs are capable of severing their own heads from their bodies and then growing an entirely new body, including a heart and other internal organs. The authors ...

Denervation of the hind limb is a technique used to study peripheral nerve regeneration. Autotomy or autophagia is an undesirable response to denervation in such studies. Application of a commercially ...