Liang Tao, Ran Jiang-Miao, Liang Qian-Ru, Leng Lin, Du Jiang-Hao, Wang Jia, Shi Lei
Xinjiang Key Laboratory for Ecological Adaptation and Evolution of Extreme Environment Biology, College of Life Sciences Xinjiang Agricultural University Urumqi China.
School of Zoology Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv Israel.
Ecol Evol. 2024 Mar 1;14(3):e11074. doi: 10.1002/ece3.11074. eCollection 2024 Mar.
Caudal autotomy is a phenomenon observed in many reptile taxa, and tail loss is a pivotal functional trait for reptiles, with potentially negative implications for organism fitness due to its influence on locomotion. Some lizard species can regenerate a lost tail, which sometimes can lead to the development of more than one tail (i.e., abnormal tail regeneration) in the process. However, little is currently known about the impact of abnormal tail regeneration on locomotor performance. In this study, we document abnormal tail regeneration in , a reptile species native to northwestern China. Additionally, we investigated the sprint speed and endurance performance of these lizards. This study provides the first report on abnormal tail regeneration and its locomotor performance on a Chinese reptile. We suggest that the abnormal regeneration of tails may contribute to the accumulation of food reserves in the species. In light of our findings, we propose that herpetologists continue to share their sporadic observations and assess the locomotor performance of species experiencing abnormal tail regeneration, further expanding our understanding of this intriguing phenomenon.
尾部自割是在许多爬行动物分类群中观察到的一种现象，而断尾是爬行动物的一个关键功能特征，由于其对运动的影响，可能对生物体的适应性产生负面影响。一些蜥蜴物种可以再生失去的尾巴，在此过程中有时会导致长出不止一条尾巴（即异常尾巴再生）。然而，目前对于异常尾巴再生对运动性能的影响知之甚少。在本研究中，我们记录了一种原产于中国西北部的爬行动物物种的异常尾巴再生情况。此外，我们还研究了这些蜥蜴的短跑速度和耐力表现。本研究首次报道了中国爬行动物的异常尾巴再生及其运动性能。我们认为，尾巴的异常再生可能有助于该物种积累食物储备。鉴于我们的研究结果，我们建议爬虫学家继续分享他们的零星观察结果，并评估经历异常尾巴再生的物种的运动性能，以进一步拓展我们对这一有趣现象的理解。
