Tom Foote asks:

> anybody out there know about Alligator lizards?
> ..[snip].. can these lizards jettison their tails at will?
> and when the tail breaks off, is it always at the same vertebrae?

Well, Kelly McAllister is probably the best Tweet to answer this, but I'll
take a shot. My first reaction was that, yes, they certainly do lose their
tails at will, and that they are more apt to do this than other species.
But when I tried checking references, the only comment I could find was in
_Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific Northwest_, by Nussbaum, Brodie,
and Storm. Of Northern Alligator Lizards (the species in the Puget Trough)
they say: "The tail is broken easily when grasped. We have found tails of
these lizards in snake stomachs attesting to the survival value of tail
autonomy." They mention that Southern Alligator Lizards sometimes use their
tails when climbing vegetation.

I have no answer for the vertebral question, but my guess would be that it
must be the same.

On a personal note: I have a certain fondness for alligator lizards, as I
won one in a drawing in second grade. It's the only time I've ever won
anything like a lottery. Don't remember my mother's reaction when I brought
it home, but it lived with us for quite a while. Never lost its tail, but
it did shed its skin on my birthday -- which I regarded as the best present
of all.

Wierd little kid.

-- Janet Hardin
Port Townsend, WA
wings at olympus.net