The Lizard's Defense Mechanism
Every animal has to have some sort of anatomical feature that enables them to stay alive when a predator attacks. Some animals even gained the ability through evolution to release their own limbs in order to keep from being prey. Animals like the lizard have a specialized feature on their body that allows them to let go of their tail if a predator has grabbed a hold of it. When doing this, they leave behind their wiggling limb that distracts the predator while they make a break for it. Contrary to what you may think, they aren’t tailless for the rest of their lives, they are actually able to regenerate a new one. So, the question arises: how does this work?
A lizard's tail is segmented into parts that act as fracture planes which is where the tail will break when a predator grabs onto it. These fracture planes are not easily broken though, they consist of muscle fibers that are very dense. A recent research study described the fragments of the tail as dense structures that contain mushroom-like features that are full of pores on one side of the tail. This porous structure fits into the grooved structure on the other side of the tail, allowing for a strong toughening mechanism (pictured below). At the lizard's will, the tail bends and the toughening mechanisms holding the porous structures release causing the breakage. These complementary structures are throughout the tail and they release depending on what part of the tail the lizard wants to.
After the tail is broken off it takes a couple of months for the tail to grow back. As it is growing back the tail grows from the inside out, so the tail will look like a pinkish stump until it's fully grown. Though this may seem like something that can be helpful to the reptile, it has its downsides. A lizard’s tail is where it stores extra fat and nutrients it needs to survive, so after losing it, it needs to make up for what was lost. It can also be vulnerable at this time because there is a possibility of an infection without proper treatment.
Great post! I think this topic is really interesting and taught me a little bit about how the lizard's tail is able to detach. I feel like the post would benefit from a little more details. Namely, how lizards
ReplyDeletecontrol their tail breakage and if they can do so at will or if it's a mechanism that they can use only in a state of arousal. I'm also a bit curious about how this research impacted previous research on the mechanics of lizard tail detachment. Did this study completely change how we view this mechanism?
This is a very informative post! Excellent explanation of how lizards regenerate their tails so the readers can have better insight into the why. I found it very interesting and I had no idea that lizards could regenerate their tails. I love the visuals too it helps gauge the readers attention and understanding of the information that is being presented to them.
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