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Autotomy, or self-amputation, is an active form of defense from predators in which an animal sheds a body part when attacked. Despite sounding strange, it is performed by many species of reptiles, insects, arachnids and mollusks. In insects and arachnids, the amputated body part is usually a leg, so that even when the part cannot be regrown, it has some sort of backup (insects and arachnids have lots of legs, in case you didn’t notice).

Recently, however, a very unusual and unexpected kind of autotomy has been discovered in arachnids: it has been found that some scorpions of the family Butidae may self-amputate their tails. This it surprising because the tail does not have a backup and cannot grow back, which means that the scorpions discard their main weapon. But there is more: the “tail” of the scorpion is actually the end of its abdomen, and by losing it the scorpion loses its anus! And yes, this does generate the sort of problem you are thinking about right now. Nevertheless, tailess scorpions can endure for months and can even reproduce.