Tail bifurcation in Chinese blue-tailed skink Plestiodon chinensis (Gray, 1839)

Abstract

Caudal autotomy is a strategy widely used in lizards to avoid predation. In some cases, tail breaks but it does not detach completely from the body, leading to a regenerated tail with multiple tips. In this note, we reported two tail bifurcation individuals of Plestiodon chinensis found on a farm. The X-rays showed that the branches of these two individuals are not ossified, but form cartilage behind the fracture surface of the tail. The present findings will provide information for studying tail regeneration abnormalities in lizards.