Heliaster helianthus
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Heliaster helianthus, the sun star, is a species of Asteroidea in the family Heliasteridae. It is found in shallow water rocky habitats and in the kelp forests off the Pacific coast of Ecuador, Peru a
Heliaster helianthus en Los Molles
Autotomy
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Autotomy is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards an appendage, usually as a self-preservation mechanism to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape. S
Heliaster helianthus
…gelatinosus. In general, small individuals are eaten whole and large individuals are immune from attack, but medium-sized individuals lose arms by autotomy. Having trapped its prey, M. gelatinosus everts its stomach over several arms of its victim, which become autotomised in response to the predation…
A white-headed dwarf gecko with tail lost due to autotomy
A lizard tail shed by autotomy
The conspicuous change in the tail pattern of this marbled gecko indicates regeneration after autotomy.
A fish scale gecko showing both autotomized scales and tail