Tonic immobility

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Images

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

Tonic immobility: Media

nature’s ultimate survival act

Images

A Virginia opossum appearing dead.

A Virginia opossum displaying tonic immobility

Once it enters this state, an opossum may remain motionless for up to four hours....

© McDonald Wildlife Photography Inc—The Image Bank/Getty Images

Image of an opossum on a tree branch

Opossum

© Lorna/stock.adobe.com

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

Male nursery-web spider

A close-up view of a male nursery-web spider (Pisaura mirabilis) resting...

© Henk Wallays/Dreamstime.com

Pygmy grasshopper

Pygmy grasshopper

Olaf Leillinger

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.

Zebra shark

© Placebo365—iStock/Getty Images Plus

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

Freshwater cichlid fish Nimbochromis livingstonii

© Charlotte B/stock.adobe.com

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

Red imported fire ant

© Fiat B2k/Dreamstime.com

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

Japanese quail

© Wirestock/Dreamstime.com

Image of a hognose snake

Tonic immobility in a hognose snake

When threatened by a predator, the hognose snake twists and turns and releases secretions...

© ondreicka/stock.adobe.com