| Through a process called autotomy, muscles can contract violently along the base of an appendage, breaking off the limb. |
| As in crustaceans, autotomy must be done before a critical period so that there is sufficient time to regenerate the appendage before the next ecdysis. |
| Because red king crabs can autotomize injured legs, crabs with a fresh autotomy were classified separately from those with other leg injuries. |
| This is perhaps because any injury between the tip of the meropodite and the point of autotomy invariably causes a breakage at the latter point. |
| A feature which the skink shares with many other lizards is autotomy, that is the shedding of the tail in order to flee from the predator. |
| Lizards have a variety of antipredator adaptations, including running and climbing, venom, camouflage, tail autotomy, and reflex bleeding. |
