No tail to tell

Photos copyright Gene Spesard

This Greater Earless lizard is nearly tail-less. Better to lose your tail than your life, of course. But, as you can see in the photo below, the tail doesn't grow back with the same flexibility and length as the original.

A bonus book recommendation: The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee. Don't be intimidated by its length; Mukherjee writes in a very accessible way.