Study
A review of thanatosis (death feigning) as an anti-predator behaviour
Humphreys, Rosalind K.; Ruxton, Graeme D.
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2018
Reviews death-feigning across animal groups, examining what triggers it, how long it lasts, what predator responses it exploits, and whether the various immobility states described in the literature are the same phenomenon.
- Studied in
- Animalia
- Sample size
- review across insects, reptiles, birds and mammals
Death feigning works chiefly by exploiting predator behaviour — many predators lose interest in motionless prey, release it, or delay handling — and duration is adjusted to circumstances rather than fixed. The states grouped under the term differ substantially between taxa and should not be assumed equivalent.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Thanatosis is a functional category covering physiologically diverse states, and its effectiveness depends on the specific predator’s handling behaviour.
How NatureHQ reads it
The record that supports two things NatureHQ needs. That the behaviour works by exploiting how predators handle prey rather than by being convincing in any general sense, and that "playing dead" covers several different physiological states which should not be treated as one.
- A review of a literature using inconsistent terminology, which the authors identify as a problem in the field.
- Evidence on duration adjustment is stronger in insects than in vertebrates.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Springer journalsPublished in a Springer journal.
doi.org/10.1007/s00265-017-2436-8
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.