Some animals are able to break off their body parts like the tail, legs or even shedding their skin when they are in danger, either when they are grasped or trapped by predators. The broken body part then twitches, distracting the predator, giving the animal time to escape. This behavior is known as autotomy and is shown by lizards, insects, and some spiders; and the lost tail or leg is regenerated sometimes.
Autotomy or self amputation is the act where an animal sheds or detach one or more of it's body parts in other to escape from a predator's grasp or to distract a predator and thereby gives room for escape. Some animals are able to regenerate the lost body parts later.
Below are creatures that are able to detach their body parts in other to escape from predators.
1. Spiders
When stung in a leg by wasps or bees, fishing spiders are able to detach its body part to escape pains.
During an experiment, a spider is injected in the leg with bee or wasp venom, they shed this appendage. But if they are injected with only saline, they rarely detach the leg.
Autotomy also plays an important role during mating in spiders. The male of Nephilengys malabarensis found in the Southeast Asia breaks off his pedipalp when transferring sperm and plugs the female's genital opening, after which the palp keeps pumping. This helps the male to avoid sexual cannibalism and if escape succeeds, the male goes on to guard "his" female from competitors.
2. Lizards
Tail-shedding, is actually a common anti-predator defense method among lizards. When attacked, many lizards shed the wriggling appendage and flee. Thereby confusing the predator to feasts on the tail while the lucky lizard runs to safety. The detached tail can grow again.
3. Sea stars, or starfish, are creatures that live on the bottom of the sea floor all over the world's oceans. When attacked, a starfish detach its limbs and escape from predator. Starfishes are able to grow back all of their limbs if they lose any from an attack. They can also drop or release an arm when predators grab them.
4. Geckolepis megalepis
This is a kind of fish-scale gecko found only on Madagascar and Comoros Island whose large scales overlap like those of a fish. When grabbed by predators, these geckos are able to shed patches of their skin and scales so as to escape from predators.
They are known to have the largest scales amongst geckos and it covers more than 8% of their body length.
Also, this gecko can regenerate the detached skin and scales of almost the same size and shapes as the old ones in just a few weeks.
5. Acomys kempi and Acomys percivali
Acomys kempi and Acomys percivali are species of African spiny mice, which are capable of shedding their skin to escape predators.
They can also fully regenerate the detached skin tissue — regrowing hair follicles, sweat gland, fur, skin, and cartilage with little or no scarring.
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