Tail Made of Legos

Can you #FindThatLizard?!

Have you ever seen a lizard with all or part of its tail missing? Western fence lizards are one of the species that use caudal autonomy, the ability to drop their tails when grabbed, as a defense mechanism.

The Lizard’s tail is comprised of a series of vertebrae made of cartilage. Think of it like a series of Lego Bricks. When grabbed by a predator, the lizard can drop its tail at the vertebrae (Lego Brick) close to where it’s caught. The lizard can lose a part of its tail at each vertebra until it loses the one at the base of the tail. At this point, it can regrow its tail one more time. The regrown tail is a solid cartilage structure with no new vertebrae.

It is unclear how much control these lizards have over where their tails are dropped. Some lizards may be more likely to drop their tails faster than others. If you ever see these lizards in the wild and try to catch them, make sure to be careful of their tails!

I hope you #FoundThatLizard. Let me know in the comments if you did!