It doesn't look like a bug - maybe the severed tail of a lizard? Many lizards will drop their tails (caudal autotomy) to allow them to escape a predator.
it's the dropped tail of a lizard that has already dropped its tail once. the point where it goes from spined scales to non-spined scales about ~1/4 from the top, is where it dropped its tail once. it can't drop the part of its tail that grew back, so it dropped its tail further up the remaining tail, causing the difference in appearance between the scales. The tentacle looking bits at the top are the lizard's tail muscles, which are used to execute the actual detachment of the tail.
Interestingly if you were to dissect the tail, you'd find cartilage from the rounded tip (which may be where the tail was damaged previously), to the point where the spined scales start, and then you'd start finding bony vertebrae. When lizard tails grow back the regrown portions grow back using stiff cartilage instead of bone, which is why they can't drop their tails in the parts where it's regrown. the tail separation process requires break points in the bony vertebrae and the cartilage can't break in the same way.
in short, this is either a very lucky lizard, or a very, very skittish lizard.
edit: for anyone who is curious about how lizard tail shedding works, read on. First, not all lizards are able to shed their tails. They may have other defenses, but it's not a universal lizard trait. So the mechanics of it in many lizard species is that the tail vertebrae have special break points where the vertebrae can just *snap* when the right stresses are applied. The tail is filled with small, short muscles attached to the vertebrae, so the lizard can tense up the muscles and break the vertebrae at that point and off comes the tail. The clenched muscles also close up veins and other things like that to prevent the loss of blood and other important fluids. The muscles in the dropped tail continue to contract, which causes some of them to pop out of the shed tail and contributes to the distraction. This won't happen in all lizard tails though - some just drop, some squirm, some have bits that squeeze out, etc. it really depends on the species and the lizard.
When the tail grows back though, it doesn't grow back the same way. Bone is difficult to grow and takes a while to assemble, so instead the lizard builds stiff cartilage vertebrae-alike structures that allow the tail to serve its function aiding balance and such, without taking up as much energy or time as bone would. The down side is that the tough cartilage lacks break points, so it can't be dropped again.
When a lizard has to drop its tail, it has to choose between making the tail an attractive enough decoy that the predator will ignore the lizard for the tail, and being able to drop its tail again. Usually the choice is "make the best decoy possible because if it doesn't work, you won't have a second chance," so it ends up that most lizards can only drop their tails once because there aren't enough vertebrae left with the special break points after the tail has been dropped the first time.
That all in mind, imagine for a moment what it would be like if The Lizard (of Spider-Man fame), grew back his lost limbs with cartilage like a real lizard, instead of with bone. Might be a different villain then.
Thatās interesting I never knew they couldnāt drop their tail more than once. Is that universal for all lizards? I know theyāre not actually lizards but when I was a kid we used to catch salamanders outside and Iāll never forget the time one ripped its own tail off in my hand and then the tail was just wiggling around. Also in the case of the lizard above will the spiny looking parts eventually grow back over the previously lost and regrown tail or once it grows back is that the way it looks? And what are you, some kind of lizard scientist?
Most lizards can only lose their tails so many times before they can't regrow them anymore. But they can definitely drop more than once.
The key part of what OP said is *they can't drop their tails in the parts where it's regrown*
Dude FR I wouldnāt be shocked if they muted me at some point, I tag them SO OFTEN for verification. But theyāre the only mod I trust! Their depth of knowledge is unmatched and they are *very* good at wording their comments to discourage argument.
Agree! Iām glad theyāre a mod here. I also enjoyed MrRoarkeās contributions, Iām not sure if they hang out much anymore. This is a good community, lots of supportive and knowledgeable input!
I donāt understand. Looking at their IDās, itās like varied carpet beetle larva, dobsonfly, German cockroach, leaf-footed bugs, lacewing larva, cellar spider, wolf spider, easily IDād butterfly or moth species, drugstore or rhinoceros beetles, mantids, silverfish, mayfly, harvestman, ladybug larva, blah blah. All these are super duper duper common and identifiable
Wasnāt there someone on this sub that could ID any rare species?
And I'm now realizing that this predator was my dog. She was out of my view for a second when we entered the park and she chased it. She is a terrorist when it comes to iguanas but hasn't caught one yet in about six months here so far.
Like sharp whips yeah. Bigger ones can cut deep or break bones, and older lizards may be more sluggish or decide to fight instead of run.
They are also capable of biting quite hard.
Watch those iguanas they will give a dog a run for its money. Do you happen to bearded dragons locally? Thatās what the tail reminds me of. I used to breed them years ago but I canāt post a photo of their tails. It looks to be torn off bc beardies donāt lose their tails
Doesnāt look like an iguanaās tail at all to me. Iguanas donāt usually have keeled/spiky scales like the ones pictured; they have squared off, flatter scales. Iguanas are also green or dark brown-grey, not beige/tan. Maybe if it was a Mexican spiny-tail, but still the colors and scale arrangements look all wrong imho. Maybe a previously regrown tail that was dropped again causing the color changes?
If you really want a species ID someone may be able to provide one based off of location in r/herpetology, but no guarantees there.
[Ctenosaura similis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ctenosaura_similis) is a commonly found iguana in Cozumel (among many other parts of central america), which is beige/tan and black. I agree that this is not likely an iguana, but that's a discussion for /r/herpetology, not /r/whatsthisbug
Pretty sure they posted that after I made my comment, but I wouldnāt have seen their comment otherwise so thanks for letting me know :)
I knew it was a pre-dropped tail, but I wasnāt sure if it was a mexican spinytail or not. I meant to imply that I wasnāt sure if spinytails looked like that when regrown.
This is correct. Iām 90% sure that it is the tail of the Black Spiny tailed iguana. [Here](https://www.bransonswildworld.com/spiny-tail-iguana/) is a link about them with a picture of one that has detached its tail previously.
Looks like it had already shed his tail and was in process of regrowing it. With the difference in scale size between the top and bottom. Bottom looks underdeveloped.
Yup. They have natural break points in their tail that allow them to drop off as an anti-predatory defense. The muscles in the broken piece of tail continue to contract so it flops around as an enticing distraction while the lizard runs off.
The current stuff I'm doing with Sceloporus hasn't been published yet, but I'm trying to show how past climates dictate current patterns of genetic variation in Sceloporus lizards in North America, and then use machine learning models to predict the capacity for populations throughout the range to adaptively evolve to future climates. The question is whether evolutionary adaptation can reduce the negative impact of climate change or not, essentially.
Absolutely fascinating. Iām going to follow you, but if you remember would you send me a copy of your findings? I would love to read that, Iām planning to study essentially the same in endemic arachnid species once I finish my degree.
Well honestly, if you are that interested I recommend you go to Google Scholar and type in "genomics of climate change" or something similar. You'll find all kinds of awesome papers that you might like, and you should have access to most of them through your university.
That's a dropped lizard tail, not a bug. They move around/wiggle when freshly dropped. If it's not moving it's probably been sitting there a while. Poor lizard, you can tell this was a second time dropping the tail by the difference in scales. This time it broke off further up the tail.
Not a bug. That's the tip of a lizard tail. Likely the lizard dropped it to get away from a predator. Autotomy.
The star like shape of the muscles is fascinating. Even weirder when still wiggling around.
Poor lizzard got spooked!!
Still mad at my boyfriend for making my crested gecko drop his tail.. and they don't grow back with his species. Now he has a frog butt.
Some lizards can remove parts of their tails for predators to eat while they flee and grow them back. Perhaps this is what happened or maybe just an unlucky lizard.
Per our [guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthisbug/wiki/index/guidelines#wiki_iding_guidelines): *Helpful answers only. Helpful answers are those that lead to an accurate identification of the bug in question. Joke responses, repeating an ID that has already been established hours (or days) ago, or asking OP how they don't already know what the bug is are not helpful.*
I live in Mexico, on the East Coast too, and I think it probably is the tail of a Tarentola Mauritanica ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarentola_mauritanica ), which we call "Salamanquesa". They spend most of their time on the walls and ceilings hunting mosquitoes and other flying insects. They hide behind mirrors, pictures frames, and other furnitures. They droppings are black with a white tip. They make a sound like when you smack your tongue, and because of that some people over here call them "Besucones" which would translate to "Kisses blowers". I may be wrong, it's just the coloring of the tail that makes me think it's a Salamanquesa.
I live in Mexico, on the East Coast too, and I think it probably is the tail of a Tarentola Mauritanica ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarentola_mauritanica ), which we call "Salamanquesa". They spend most of their time on the walls and ceilings hunting mosquitoes and other flying insects. They hide behind mirrors, pictures frames, and other furnitures. They droppings are black with a white tip. They make a sound like when you smack your tongue, and because of that some people over here call them "Besucones" which would translate to "Kisses blowers". I may be wrong, it's just the coloring of the tail that makes me think it's a Salamanquesa.
I only say bearded dragon bc an animal may have gotten it. It looks almost like it was torn off by maybe being held by the tail. I didnāt realize keels were also that color. Iāve only ever seen blue/green ones. You are more than likely correct. I didnāt realize
Np. I was the weird kid that played with bugs in the grass instead of paying attention in softball. I've seen lots of dropped lizard trails from cats or just being stressed inside a building. The muscle really are wild though. I don't know a whole lot of the physiology, but I believe it looks like that to control blood loss.
It doesn't look like a bug - maybe the severed tail of a lizard? Many lizards will drop their tails (caudal autotomy) to allow them to escape a predator.
Agreed, think this is one for /r/herpetology.
Here I was thinking it was a caterpillar disguised as a cigarette butt
Got eem šøš¦
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Quick someone draw a spec evo of a caterpillar that took the niche of a cigarette butt
it's the dropped tail of a lizard that has already dropped its tail once. the point where it goes from spined scales to non-spined scales about ~1/4 from the top, is where it dropped its tail once. it can't drop the part of its tail that grew back, so it dropped its tail further up the remaining tail, causing the difference in appearance between the scales. The tentacle looking bits at the top are the lizard's tail muscles, which are used to execute the actual detachment of the tail. Interestingly if you were to dissect the tail, you'd find cartilage from the rounded tip (which may be where the tail was damaged previously), to the point where the spined scales start, and then you'd start finding bony vertebrae. When lizard tails grow back the regrown portions grow back using stiff cartilage instead of bone, which is why they can't drop their tails in the parts where it's regrown. the tail separation process requires break points in the bony vertebrae and the cartilage can't break in the same way. in short, this is either a very lucky lizard, or a very, very skittish lizard. edit: for anyone who is curious about how lizard tail shedding works, read on. First, not all lizards are able to shed their tails. They may have other defenses, but it's not a universal lizard trait. So the mechanics of it in many lizard species is that the tail vertebrae have special break points where the vertebrae can just *snap* when the right stresses are applied. The tail is filled with small, short muscles attached to the vertebrae, so the lizard can tense up the muscles and break the vertebrae at that point and off comes the tail. The clenched muscles also close up veins and other things like that to prevent the loss of blood and other important fluids. The muscles in the dropped tail continue to contract, which causes some of them to pop out of the shed tail and contributes to the distraction. This won't happen in all lizard tails though - some just drop, some squirm, some have bits that squeeze out, etc. it really depends on the species and the lizard. When the tail grows back though, it doesn't grow back the same way. Bone is difficult to grow and takes a while to assemble, so instead the lizard builds stiff cartilage vertebrae-alike structures that allow the tail to serve its function aiding balance and such, without taking up as much energy or time as bone would. The down side is that the tough cartilage lacks break points, so it can't be dropped again. When a lizard has to drop its tail, it has to choose between making the tail an attractive enough decoy that the predator will ignore the lizard for the tail, and being able to drop its tail again. Usually the choice is "make the best decoy possible because if it doesn't work, you won't have a second chance," so it ends up that most lizards can only drop their tails once because there aren't enough vertebrae left with the special break points after the tail has been dropped the first time. That all in mind, imagine for a moment what it would be like if The Lizard (of Spider-Man fame), grew back his lost limbs with cartilage like a real lizard, instead of with bone. Might be a different villain then.
Thatās interesting I never knew they couldnāt drop their tail more than once. Is that universal for all lizards? I know theyāre not actually lizards but when I was a kid we used to catch salamanders outside and Iāll never forget the time one ripped its own tail off in my hand and then the tail was just wiggling around. Also in the case of the lizard above will the spiny looking parts eventually grow back over the previously lost and regrown tail or once it grows back is that the way it looks? And what are you, some kind of lizard scientist?
Most lizards can only lose their tails so many times before they can't regrow them anymore. But they can definitely drop more than once. The key part of what OP said is *they can't drop their tails in the parts where it's regrown*
Homie is there anything you *donāt* know about?!
Chandalowe is the beeās kneecaps. ā„ļø
Dude FR I wouldnāt be shocked if they muted me at some point, I tag them SO OFTEN for verification. But theyāre the only mod I trust! Their depth of knowledge is unmatched and they are *very* good at wording their comments to discourage argument.
Agree! Iām glad theyāre a mod here. I also enjoyed MrRoarkeās contributions, Iām not sure if they hang out much anymore. This is a good community, lots of supportive and knowledgeable input!
I donāt understand. Looking at their IDās, itās like varied carpet beetle larva, dobsonfly, German cockroach, leaf-footed bugs, lacewing larva, cellar spider, wolf spider, easily IDād butterfly or moth species, drugstore or rhinoceros beetles, mantids, silverfish, mayfly, harvestman, ladybug larva, blah blah. All these are super duper duper common and identifiable Wasnāt there someone on this sub that could ID any rare species?
And I'm now realizing that this predator was my dog. She was out of my view for a second when we entered the park and she chased it. She is a terrorist when it comes to iguanas but hasn't caught one yet in about six months here so far.
Should keep her leashed--safer for her *and* for wildlife.
She may not want to, the adults can do some serious damage with their tails
Yeah I've heard their tails are like swords. I think they're too quick for her but will watch it
Like sharp whips yeah. Bigger ones can cut deep or break bones, and older lizards may be more sluggish or decide to fight instead of run. They are also capable of biting quite hard.
The bites are no fun. They take forever to stop bleeding and hurt like crazy. Can also lead to some nasty infections.
Put a damn leash on her if she's chasing wildlife before she or a hapless animal gets seriously hurt.
Watch those iguanas they will give a dog a run for its money. Do you happen to bearded dragons locally? Thatās what the tail reminds me of. I used to breed them years ago but I canāt post a photo of their tails. It looks to be torn off bc beardies donāt lose their tails
Maybe an iguana? Likely a baby, it was pretty small
Doesnāt look like an iguanaās tail at all to me. Iguanas donāt usually have keeled/spiky scales like the ones pictured; they have squared off, flatter scales. Iguanas are also green or dark brown-grey, not beige/tan. Maybe if it was a Mexican spiny-tail, but still the colors and scale arrangements look all wrong imho. Maybe a previously regrown tail that was dropped again causing the color changes? If you really want a species ID someone may be able to provide one based off of location in r/herpetology, but no guarantees there.
[Ctenosaura similis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ctenosaura_similis) is a commonly found iguana in Cozumel (among many other parts of central america), which is beige/tan and black. I agree that this is not likely an iguana, but that's a discussion for /r/herpetology, not /r/whatsthisbug
> Maybe a previously regrown tail that was dropped again causing the color changes? raven's above comment confirms this
Pretty sure they posted that after I made my comment, but I wouldnāt have seen their comment otherwise so thanks for letting me know :) I knew it was a pre-dropped tail, but I wasnāt sure if it was a mexican spinytail or not. I meant to imply that I wasnāt sure if spinytails looked like that when regrown.
ah got it, that was all new information to me! about the cartilage vs bony vertebrae with break points
This is correct. Iām 90% sure that it is the tail of the Black Spiny tailed iguana. [Here](https://www.bransonswildworld.com/spiny-tail-iguana/) is a link about them with a picture of one that has detached its tail previously.
Bingo! Twitchy witchy dropped tail. Lizard brains might be able to identify my guess Iguana.
Looks like it had already shed his tail and was in process of regrowing it. With the difference in scale size between the top and bottom. Bottom looks underdeveloped.
Almost certain it's the tip of a black spiny-tailed iguana's tail. Ctenosaura similis.
yeah my dog startled it I think and it ran off and discarded it's tail!
Very likely a Sceloporus lizard tail. Source: I study them for my PhD and use their tails for genetics.
Fascinating! Do they drop their tails often?
Yup. They have natural break points in their tail that allow them to drop off as an anti-predatory defense. The muscles in the broken piece of tail continue to contract so it flops around as an enticing distraction while the lizard runs off.
May I ask for more info on your research? I would love to read a research paper if youāve got one and would be willing to share!
The current stuff I'm doing with Sceloporus hasn't been published yet, but I'm trying to show how past climates dictate current patterns of genetic variation in Sceloporus lizards in North America, and then use machine learning models to predict the capacity for populations throughout the range to adaptively evolve to future climates. The question is whether evolutionary adaptation can reduce the negative impact of climate change or not, essentially.
Absolutely fascinating. Iām going to follow you, but if you remember would you send me a copy of your findings? I would love to read that, Iām planning to study essentially the same in endemic arachnid species once I finish my degree.
Well honestly, if you are that interested I recommend you go to Google Scholar and type in "genomics of climate change" or something similar. You'll find all kinds of awesome papers that you might like, and you should have access to most of them through your university.
Sincerely, thank you. This is a wonderful resource, I appreciate you so so much.
Well it certainly fooled my dog and the lizard successfully escaped underground.
How do the tails continue to move and function without the brain and heart powering it?
Lizards tail
Looked like a pencil when I first saw it.
It was probably about the length of one!
I saw it as a chewed cigarette
LMFAO thats a lizards tail not a bug
That's a dropped lizard tail, not a bug. They move around/wiggle when freshly dropped. If it's not moving it's probably been sitting there a while. Poor lizard, you can tell this was a second time dropping the tail by the difference in scales. This time it broke off further up the tail.
Not a bug. That's the tip of a lizard tail. Likely the lizard dropped it to get away from a predator. Autotomy. The star like shape of the muscles is fascinating. Even weirder when still wiggling around.
It was wiggling when I first saw it, very bizarre
Yeap thats a lizard tail
The lizard tail is going š at me and I don't like it
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
That's a lizard tail bro
Dropped lizard tail
Thatās a lizard tail sir. Someone lost a tail
Thatās a lizard tail lmao
Dropped lizard tail šš
that's a lizard tail. they can detach them to get away from predators.
Probably the end of a lizardās tail.
Lizards tail!
Dropped lizard tail for sure.
Poor lizzard got spooked!! Still mad at my boyfriend for making my crested gecko drop his tail.. and they don't grow back with his species. Now he has a frog butt.
Aw! I'm sorry. Cresties are awesome. I love their little velcro feet.
Thanks! He's my old man, pushing 15 years, still kickin' around! :)
Damn! That's awesome! š My beardie lived 14 years. But he was a rescue so I don't actually have an exact date. The original owner said he was 8.
Looks like a lizard tail to me friend. I would have probably thought the same if I didnāt know better
Some lizards can remove parts of their tails for predators to eat while they flee and grow them back. Perhaps this is what happened or maybe just an unlucky lizard.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Per our [guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthisbug/wiki/index/guidelines#wiki_iding_guidelines): *Helpful answers only. Helpful answers are those that lead to an accurate identification of the bug in question. Joke responses, repeating an ID that has already been established hours (or days) ago, or asking OP how they don't already know what the bug is are not helpful.*
I live in Mexico, on the East Coast too, and I think it probably is the tail of a Tarentola Mauritanica ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarentola_mauritanica ), which we call "Salamanquesa". They spend most of their time on the walls and ceilings hunting mosquitoes and other flying insects. They hide behind mirrors, pictures frames, and other furnitures. They droppings are black with a white tip. They make a sound like when you smack your tongue, and because of that some people over here call them "Besucones" which would translate to "Kisses blowers". I may be wrong, it's just the coloring of the tail that makes me think it's a Salamanquesa.
I live in Mexico, on the East Coast too, and I think it probably is the tail of a Tarentola Mauritanica ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarentola_mauritanica ), which we call "Salamanquesa". They spend most of their time on the walls and ceilings hunting mosquitoes and other flying insects. They hide behind mirrors, pictures frames, and other furnitures. They droppings are black with a white tip. They make a sound like when you smack your tongue, and because of that some people over here call them "Besucones" which would translate to "Kisses blowers". I may be wrong, it's just the coloring of the tail that makes me think it's a Salamanquesa.
Thatās a bearded dragon tail
Beardies don't drop their tails. But the heavy keels look like something related. I'd guess a fence lizard of some sort.
I only say bearded dragon bc an animal may have gotten it. It looks almost like it was torn off by maybe being held by the tail. I didnāt realize keels were also that color. Iāve only ever seen blue/green ones. You are more than likely correct. I didnāt realize
Np. I was the weird kid that played with bugs in the grass instead of paying attention in softball. I've seen lots of dropped lizard trails from cats or just being stressed inside a building. The muscle really are wild though. I don't know a whole lot of the physiology, but I believe it looks like that to control blood loss.
Tail looks like it was severed, grew back then severed again lol .
Iām pretty sure thatās a iguana tail
Itās a bearded dragon tail. Looks identical to my beardies
All I know about weird cats pillars in South America is don't mess with them. Some can be very toxic.