Apparent death - Wikipedia Tonic immobility (also known as the act of feigning death, or exhibiting thanatosis) is a behaviour in which some animals become apparently temporarily paralysed and unresponsive to external stimuli
20 Animals That Play Dead - Examples and Reasons for Doing It Thanatosis is a behavior by which some animals pretend to be dead This form of animal deception is an adaptive behavior used as a defense mechanism or a form of mimicry and occurs in a wide variety of animals
Why Some Animals Pretend to Be Dead to Survive Thanatosis is a survival behavior in which an animal feigns death to deter predators from eating it When exhibiting this behavior, the animal becomes motionless on its side or back
THANATOSIS Definition Meaning - Merriam-Webster The meaning of THANATOSIS is a state that in some respects resembles shock, is characterized by cessation of all voluntary activity and usually by assumption of a posture suggestive of death, and occurs in various insects (as beetles) when disturbed
Thanatosis - ScienceDirect Thanatosis increases the chance of surviving a predatory encounter even in the absence of neighbours or other obvious defences It may offer only a slight chance of reprieve, but many predators will remove their prey to a safer location to consume
A review of thanatosis (death feigning) as an anti-predator . . . - Springer Thanatosis—also known as death-feigning and, we argue more appropriately, tonic immobility (TI)—is an under-reported but fascinating anti-predator strategy adopted by diverse prey late on in the predation sequence, and frequently following physical contact by the predator
Thanatosis: What is it and What Animals Practice It? | 2026 Thanatosis, the term that concerns us today, is a mechanism that can be deployed until the final phase, that is, the subjugation of the prey itself since the animal can remain completely motionless for minutes or hours after the predator has released it
What Animals Play Dead? The Science of Thanatosis The scientific term for playing dead is thanatosis, which is frequently characterized by a state called tonic immobility (TI) Tonic immobility is an involuntary, unlearned response triggered by extreme stress, usually when the animal is physically restrained or in the close presence of a predator