When a lizard loses its tail, the tail can keep moving by itself.

Losing a limb would be catastrophic for most animals. But for many lizards, losing a tail isn’t the end of the story — in fact, those tails can keep right on moving by themselves.

Species such as geckos and green anoles can intentionally shed their tails when threatened, a process known as caudal autotomy. It happens quickly, coming off at specialized fracture points along the vertebrae in the tail that allow it to detach cleanly when needed, with minimal harm to the lizard itself.

After it detaches, the tail doesn’t simply go still. For several minutes, it can continue to twitch, wiggle, jump, and flick across the ground. The movement, though a bit unsettling, is an evolved distraction tactic designed to take a predator’s attention away from the escaping animal.

Some salamanders can regenerate their brains.

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The axolotl, an adorable-looking species of salamander from Mexico, has the ability to regenerate parts of its brain if it suffers an injury.

The movement occurs because the tail contains local neural circuits that can coordinate muscle activity without direct input from the brain. The tail won’t move forever, though. Without ongoing brain involvement, as the tail’s stored energy is used up, the neural signals fade and the muscles stop contracting after a period of minutes.

Most lizards that sacrifice their own tail also eventually regrow a new one, although it isn’t quite the same as the original. Instead of bone, the replacement is typically made of cartilage, and while it restores some function, it often looks different, telling the story of the animal’s great escape.

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