Definition of automimicry in US English:
automimicry
nounˌôtōˈmimikrēˌôtōˈmimikrē
Biology The mimicking or accentuation of some characteristic of one's own species as an adaptive response.
Example sentencesExamples
- Another form of automimicry occurs when a signal coming from one part of the body is duplicated by another part.
- Some authors have suggested that enhanced human characteristics are also examples of automimicry.
- Now a researcher says he has found the first example of automimicry in plants: species that mimic their own thorns in an effort to look even less appealing to herbivores.
- The lantern fly's elongated head is an evolutionary adaptation called automimicry, in which parts of the body are disguised or artificially shifted to other areas to confuse predators: the lantern fly's head looks like a tail, and its tail looks like a head.
- When an animal mimics some part of it's own body, it's called automimicry.