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. Some animals are able to regenerate the lost body part later. Autotomy is thought to have evolved independently at least nine times.^[2] The term was coined in 1883 by Leon Fredericq.^[3]

^ (2000). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.
^ Emberts, Z.; Escalante, I.; Bateman, P. W. (2019). "The ecology and evolution of autotomy". Biological Reviews. 94 (6): 1881–1896. doi:10.1111/brv.12539. PMID 31240822. S2CID 195660712.
^ Fredericq, Leon (1883). "Sur l'autotomie ou mutilation par voie reflexe comme moyen de defense chez les animaux" [On autotomy or reflex mutilation as a means of defence in animals] (PDF). Archives de Zoologie Expérimentale et Générale. 2 (in French). 1: 414–426.

[1] (2000). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.

[2] Emberts, Z.; Escalante, I.; Bateman, P. W. (2019). "The ecology and evolution of autotomy". Biological Reviews. 94 (6): 1881–1896. doi:10.1111/brv.12539. PMID 31240822. S2CID 195660712.

[3] Fredericq, Leon (1883). "Sur l'autotomie ou mutilation par voie reflexe comme moyen de defense chez les animaux" [On autotomy or reflex mutilation as a means of defence in animals] (PDF). Archives de Zoologie Expérimentale et Générale. 2 (in French). 1: 414–426.

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