The Relation of Size and Age to Rate of Tail Regeneration in Lebistes Reticulatus

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Abstract
Tail-webs of female guppies were cut off transversely, and the rate of regeneration determined at ages from birth to 3 years: a) in fish growing under normal aquarium conditions; b) in fish whose growth was stopped by food restriction; c) in retarded fish during resumed growth. The percentage of a defect restored after 20 days in normally-growing fish falls with age and size. The curve of its decline is a mirror-image of the growth in body length. In starved fish which are not growing, the regeneration rate is about the same as in full-sized littermates: in starved fish which have resumed growth, it is much faster. Regeneration rate in females is determined chiefly by the status of general body-growth. As body-size approaches its asymptote for a given set of conditions, regeneration rate falls to a basal level. When growth is resumed, it rises again. Old, previously starved fish which fail to grow when transferred to better conditions may still respond by a rise in regeneration-rate. The basal level of regeneration is higher in males than females, and in wild-type compared with fancy-tailed males. The histology of the regenerative process in Lebistes tail-web is described and illustrated.

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