Editing Lizard (section)

====Autotomy====
<!--[[File:Lizard tail autotomy.JPG|thumb|Lizard tail [[autotomy]]]]-->
[[File:Severed skink tail.webm|thumb|A skink tail continuing to move after [[autotomy]]]]

Many lizards, including [[gecko]]s and [[skink]]s, are capable of shedding their tails ([[autotomy]]). The detached tail, sometimes brilliantly coloured, continues to writhe after detaching, distracting the predator's attention from the fleeing prey. Lizards partially [[regeneration (biology)|regenerate]] their tails over a period of weeks. Some 326 genes are involved in regenerating lizard tails.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/scientists-discover-how-lizards-regrow-tails-9681841.html Scientists discover how lizards regrow tails] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027042902/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/scientists-discover-how-lizards-regrow-tails-9681841.html |date=2017-10-27 }}, The Independent, August 20, 2014</ref> The fish-scale gecko ''[[Geckolepis megalepis ]]'' sheds patches of skin and scales if grabbed.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Scherz|first1=Mark D.|display-authors=etal|title=Off the scale: a new species of fish-scale gecko (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Geckolepis) with exceptionally large scales|journal=PeerJ |date=2017 |volume=5 |pages=e2955 |pmid=28194313 |doi=10.7717/peerj.2955 |pmc=5299998 |doi-access=free }}</ref>