Evolution of Regeneration Capabilities

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Abstract
A hypothesis, involving an evolutionary explanation for why some organisms can regenerate structures and others cannot, is discussed. The hypothesis suggests that the loss of structures which are essential to an organism will not allow the organism to live long enough to provide selection pressure for the regeneration of that structure. Structures of little importance should not be under strong selection pressure for regeneration. Structures of intermediate value (not essential but important enough to be missed) or structures which are unimportant at the time of loss but subsequently become important (e.g., legs of larval amphibians) should be most likely to evolve regenerative abilities. Examples from the literature are used to show that this hypothesis is consistent with many patterns of regeneration seen in various taxa of animals.