Sacrificing body parts is one of many behaviors that animals use to escape predation. This trait, termed autotomy, is classically associated with lizards. However, several other taxa also autotomize, and this trait has independently evolved multiple times throughout Animalia. Despite having multiple origins and being an iconic antipredatory trait, much remains unknown about the evolution of autotomy. Here, we combine morphological, behavioral, and genomic data to investigate the evolution of autotomy within leaf‐footed bugs and allies (Insecta: Hemiptera: Coreidae + Alydidae). We found that the ancestor of leaf‐footed bugs autotomized and did so slowly; rapid autotomy (<2 min) then arose multiple times. The ancestor likely used slow autotomy to reduce the cost of injury or to escape nonpredatory entrapment but could not use autotomy to escape predation. This result suggests that autotomy to escape predation is a co‐opted benefit (i.e., exaptation), revealing one way that sacrificing a limb to escape predation may arise. In addition to identifying the origins of rapid autotomy, we also show that across species variation in the rates of autotomy can be explained by body size, distance from the equator, and enlargement of the autotomizable appendage.

中文翻译：

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叶足虫自切术的进化

牺牲身体部位是动物用来逃避捕食的众多行为之一。这种被称为自体切割的特征通常与蜥蜴有关。然而，其他几个分类群也会自动发生，并且这种特性在整个动物界已经独立进化了多次。尽管有多个起源并且是一个标志性的反掠夺性特征，但关于自体切割的进化仍有很多未知。在这里，我们结合形态学、行为学和基因组数据来研究叶足虫及其盟友（昆虫纲：半翅目：蜂科 + Alydidae）内自体切割的进化。我们发现叶足虫的祖先会自动完成，而且速度很慢；快速自切（<2 分钟）然后出现多次。祖先可能使用缓慢自切术来降低伤害成本或逃避非捕食性诱捕，但不能使用自切术来逃避捕食。这一结果表明，自体切除以逃避捕食是一种附加的好处（即，exaptation），揭示了可能会出现牺牲肢体以逃避捕食的一种方式。除了确定快速自切术的起源外，我们还表明，自切率的不同物种之间的差异可以通过体型、距赤道的距离和可自动切开的附属物的扩大来解释。