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Emperor penguin juvenile in moulting stage

Moulting

Moulting is all about renewing your skin, fur or feathers, and occurs in animals for a number of reasons. Some creatures, such as snakes and insects, need to shed their skins in order to grow. Birds moult their feathers at least annually to replace damaged ones, and some species also take the opportunity to change into breeding colours or to turn white in winter for camouflage. Mammals may shed their fur for a thicker winter or thinner summer coat, and again some types may change fur colour with the seasons.

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Animals with this behaviour

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles

Insects

Arachnids

Crabs, shrimp and krill

Merostomata

Trilobites

About

In biology, moulting or molting/ˈmoʊltɪŋ/, also known as sloughing, shedding, or for some species, ecdysis, is the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often but not always an outer layer or covering), either at specific times of year, or at specific points in its life cycle.

Moulting can involve the epidermis (skin), pelage (hair, fur, wool), or other external layer. In some species, other body parts may be shed, for example, wings in some insects. Examples include old feathers in birds, old hairs in mammals (especially dogs and other canidae), old skin in reptiles, and the entire exoskeleton in arthropods.

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Behaviours

Other Life cycle behaviours

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