Autotomy

Autotomy (from the Greek auto-, "self-" and tome, "severing", αὐτοτομία) or 'self-amputation', is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards one or more of its own appendages,^[1] usually as a self-defense mechanism to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape. Some animals have the ability to regenerate the lost body part later. Autotomy has multiple evolutionary origins and is thought to have evolved at least nine times independently in animals.^[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" (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" (PDF). Archives de Zoologie Expérimentale et Générale. 2 (in French). 1: 414–426.

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