Several kinds of myriapods, as well as a number of spiders, are known to
regenerate their legs. In the insects, however, only a few forms are
known to have this power,--caterpillars, mantis, and the cockroach. The
large majority of insects, in the imago state, do not seem to be able to
regenerate, although in a few cases regeneration has been found to
occur.[46]
In the mollusks, regeneration of the head takes place under certain
conditions. Spallanzani thought that if the entire head is cut off a new
one regenerates. This conclusion was denied by at least eleven of his
contemporaries, and confirmed by about ten others. It was found later
that the result depends in part on the time of year and in part on the
kind of snail. Carrière, who more recently examined the question, found
that even under the most favorable conditions regeneration does not take
place if the circumœsophageal nerve-commissure is completely removed
with the head, but if a part remains, a new head develops. It has been
stated that a new foot regenerates in helicarion, and I have found that
the foot regenerates also in the fresh-water snails, physa, limnæa, and
planorbis. If the margin of the shell of a lamellibranch or of a snail
is broken off, it is renewed by the mantle. The arms of some of the
cephalopods are known to regenerate, particularly the hectocotylized
arm.
In all the main groups of echinoderms, with one possible exception,
regeneration has been found to take place. Probably all starfishes and
brittle-stars regenerate their arms, and even if cut in two or more
pieces, new starfishes develop. The crinoids regenerate lost arms, and
even parts of the disk; also the visceral mass. The holothurians have
very remarkable powers of regeneration. In some forms regeneration takes
place if the animals are cut in two, or even in more than two pieces.
The remarkable phenomenon of evisceration that take place in certain
holothurians, if they are roughly handled, or kept under unfavorable
conditions, are well known and have been described by a number of
writers. It has even been suggested that the holothurian may save itself
by offering up its viscera to its assailant! Unfortunately for this
view, it has been found that the viscera are unpalatable, at least to
sea-anemones and to fishes. Ludwig and Minchin suggest that the throwing
off of the Cuvierian organs, which are attached to the cloaca, is a
defensive act, and if carried too far, according to the latter writer,
the viscera may also be lost. The holothurians have remarkable
recuperative powers and may regenerate new viscera in a very short time.
The sea-urchins form, perhaps, an exception in this group, since there
are no records of their regenerative power, but no doubt this is because
they have not been as fully investigated as have other forms.
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