Tonic immobility: Quick Facts

Written and fact-checked by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	playing dead • death feigning • playing possum • thanatosis

Photos

A Virginia opossum appearing dead.

Image of an opossum on a tree branch

A male Nursery Web Spider (Pisaura mirabilis) with long legs and brown body rests on a cluster of small white flowers with pink centers.

Pygmy grasshopper

Zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum) with a long tail and spotted body swims above a coral reef in clear blue water off the coast of Krabi, Thailand.

Juvenile Livingston's cichlid with white coloring and irregular black spots swims near rocks and sand in an aquarium.

Close-up of a red fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) worker on a green plant, with focus on its head, antennae, and open jaws.

A Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) with brown and tan plumage stands alert in a patch of dry grass.

Image of a hognose snake

See All Images →

Topics

Animal behaviour defensive behavior Animal learning Reproductive behaviour Locomotion Animal communication Feeding behaviour Avoidance behaviour Display behaviour agonism play Cooperative foraging