Have you seen a mimic imitate someone else and make people laugh? Some reptiles are expert mimics, but they do it for a serious reason – to save their lives.
The harmless milk snake has the banded appearance of the poisonous coral snake. This mimicry happens in areas where the two live together. Outside these areas, the milk snake does not look much like a coral snake.
The non poisonous Mexican king snake looks like the coral snake, when young. A harmless snake may look like a poisonous snake. This is Batesian mimicry. So, enemies mistake the harmless reptile for the poisonous one, and leave it alone. The scientist, H.W. Bates discovered this mimicry over one hundred years ago.
Blind legless lizards that live under the ground trick their enemies by displaying their tail. The underside of their tails is usually red or yellow in colour, and looks like an open mouth. The enemy attacks the tail, mistaking it for the head. The tail can withstand injury better than the head, and the life of the lizard is saved.
Lizards may have a tail differently coloured from the rest of their body. When the enemy attacks them, they break off their tail. The tail jumps about on the ground, confusing the enemy, and helps the lizard to make good its escape.