Relating to the ability to automatically detach or shed parts of the body, usually as a defense mechanism.
From Greek 'auto-' (self) + 'tomic' (from 'tome' meaning cut). Scientific term describing animal behavior, established in biological literature by the mid-1800s.
Many lizards have autotomic tails—when grabbed, the tail breaks off and keeps wiggling to distract the predator while the lizard escapes! Some species can regrow the tail perfectly, making this one of nature's coolest self-defense tricks.
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