Editing Reptile (section)

===Shedding and regenerating tails===
{{Main|Autotomy}}
[[Geckos]], [[skinks]], and some other lizards that are captured by the tail will shed part of the tail structure through a process called [[autotomy]] and thus be able to flee. The detached tail will continue to thrash, creating a deceptive sense of continued struggle and distracting the predator's attention from the fleeing prey animal. The detached tails of [[leopard gecko]]s can wiggle for up to 20 minutes. The tail grows back in most species, but some, like crested geckos, lose their tails for the rest of their lives.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Marshall |first1=Michael |title=Gecko's amputated tail has life of its own |magazine=[[New Scientist]] |department=Zoologger |series=Life |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21375-zoologger-geckos-amputated-tail-has-life-of-its-own.html#.U_G4O0HcySI |access-date=August 18, 2014}}</ref> In many species the tails are of a separate and dramatically more intense color than the rest of the body so as to encourage potential predators to strike for the tail first. In the [[Tiliqua rugosa|shingleback skink]] and some species of geckos, the tail is short and broad and resembles the head, so that the predators may attack it rather than the more vulnerable front part.<ref name="pianka">{{Cite book | last1 = Pianka | first1 = Eric R. | last2 = Vitt | first2 = Laurie J. | year = 2003 | title = Lizards: Windows to the evolution of diversity | edition = 1 | series = Organisms and Environments | volume = 5 | publisher = University of California Press | isbn = 978-0-520-23401-7 | url = https://archive.org/details/lizardswindowsto00pian }}</ref>

Reptiles that are capable of shedding their tails can partially [[regeneration (biology)|regenerate]] them over a period of weeks. The new section will however contain cartilage rather than bone, and will never grow to the same length as the original tail. It is often also distinctly discolored compared to the rest of the body and may lack some of the external sculpting features seen in the original tail.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Alibardi |first1=Lorenzo |title=Morphological and Cellular Aspects of Tail and Limb Regeneration in Lizards |chapter=Regeneration in Reptiles and Its Position Among Vertebrates |series=Advances in Anatomy, Embryology and Cell Biology |year=2010 |volume=207 |pages=iii, v-x, 1–109 |publisher=Springer |location=Heidelberg, DE |isbn=978-3-642-03733-7 |pmid=20334040 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-03733-7_1}}</ref>