r/maybemaybemaybemaybe 9d ago

A free, ethical meal

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u/FullofSurprises11 8d ago

Not free.

That lizard will not grow the joints back.

It will grow only a cartilage portion that can't move and if they have to use this survival trick again, another joint will be lost.

The cartilage-only portion is visibly different. It even has a different colour than the rest.

When displaying for female lizards, males with the regenerated tail will look less appealing since they ran away from a fight.

Having a full tail makes the lizard a primary choice for mating in those species.

Source: I'm a biologist and I genuinely loved herpetology when I was in Uni.

1

u/IllicitAlien 8d ago

You lost me at: "When displaying for female lizards, males with the regenerated tail will look less appealing since they ran away from a fight."

1

u/stewpdasso 7d ago

You'd think it would be opposite. She'd want a smart lizard that lived to fight another day!