Ancient Animal Could Take Itself Apart to Escape Predators

[Judi Lynn]

A fossil lizard is the oldest known reptile that can lose its tail and survive, an ability still seen in modern species.

By Heather Brady
PUBLISHED MARCH 7, 2018

A tiny, ancient reptile that lived hundreds of millions of years ago had a great trick for deterring predators looking for an easy meal: ditching its tail.

According to a study published in the journal Nature, researchers from the University of Toronto looked at 70 chunks of the reptile’s tail bones. Newsweek reports that, similar to a paper towel ripping off of a roll at a perforated seam, when a predator grabbed the lizard’s tail to try to eat the reptile, the tail would rip off at certain cracks, allowing the lizard to get away.

The reptile, known as Captorhinus, was four and a half pounds and lived 289 million years ago. The cracks that allowed them to detach their tails were often present in younger lizards, whereas fully grown adult lizards had tails that seemed to be fused together.

Since younger lizards were at a greater risk of being eaten than adult lizards, it makes sense that this feature would diminish as the lizards aged.

More:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/ancient-reptile-tail-loss-predator-spd/

[eppur_se_muova]

1. This is a well-known escape mechanism in modern lizards and salamanders ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autotomy