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What is Tail Flipping?
Tail flipping is an action of crayfish that allows them to move quickly away. In other words, it is an instictive escape reaction to danger. Tail flipping is also known as LG reactions (for lateral giant neuron escape reaction). The LG neuron is responsible for this reflexive movement.
When two crayfish are placed together, they fight immediately. The fighting results in establishment of a dominant/subordinate relationship, dependent upon the size and experience of the individual crayfish. Plus, in general, the subordinate crayfish will show less LG reactions than the dominant crayfish. (Note: scientists believe that subordinate crayfish under threat of attack tend to have reactions which involve nonreflexive types of escape (not controlled by the LG neuron). Dominant individuals are believed to go about their business, mostly ignoring an enemy and relying on reflex escape to protect them from unexpected attack. So, escape of subordinates during fights is mediated by non-LGN, non-reflexive mechanisms.)
 What is so important about the LG reflex?
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