Jan
Some animals have the incredible ability to regrow or regenerate some of their body parts if they become injured. These animals are some of the wonders of the animal kingdom.
Regeneration can best describe as the natural process of renewal or restoration. When a body part is damaged or even severed, some animals can replace the damaged parts with the process of regeneration.
Humans have this ability to an extent as well. When we get injured, our skin regenerates to cover the minor wounds.
The animals can regenerate to various degrees all have an increased amount of stem cells that help them form these new body parts. Stem cells are cells that do not have a specific function yet and, this means that they can turn into any type of cell that the animal may need to rregenerate that part specifically.
The nine animals below have the most phenomenal potential of all creatures. Let’s take a closer look at them and investigate their regenerative capabilities:
- Axolotl
An axolotl may not be one of the animals widely known, but it also has prominent regenerative abilities.
Like the lizards, these fish-like animals can regenerate their tails and limbs in a similar process. This adorable little animal often is kept as a pet in an exotic aquarium.
They are found only in one lake near Mexico, and for this reason, they make a rare and foreign animal in most other countries.
The regeneration of the limbs is currently undergoing more research from scientists who would like to apply this property to human body regeneration in the future.
View this website to learn more about this fabulous animal.
- Lizards
This category of animals would probably be known to some for their regenerative adeptness. Some of them can shed their tails when threatened and, what seems to be magical, grow a new one.
Other body parts that they can regenerate include the limbs. Their skin would move over the amputation site and cover it within 1 to 2 hours.
After this, the skin cells begin with differentiating into new cells that would later form the new limb.
- Starfish
Around the world, living in the ocean, this sea creature is one of the animals that can regrow its limbs should something happen to them.
Most of the species of starfish can only regenerate limbs and need their bodies intact to do so. But other species could even regenerate their entire body from a severed limb.
When regenerating a body, nutrients will be stored in the severed limb until the mouth has regrown to consume food again.
- Flatworm
Scientists are still baffled by the fascinating phenomenon this animal is capable of being. Unlike other animals that only regrow a limb or lost body part, the flatworm can split in half into two new worms.
The regenerative capabilities of the flatworm are astounding and seem mysterious in some ways.
- Hydra
The hydra is a special regenerator as most of their bodies consist of stem cells. These stem cells can proliferate into nearly any new type of cell the hydra would need to regrow parts of themselves.
It has been observed that whole new hydra forms from only a little piece of a hydra’s stem cells to make it extraordinarily fascinating.
- Salamander
Salamanders are super animals in terms of regenerative properties. Not only can they regrow limbs, but they can also even regrow organs.
Family to the lizards, the salamander is known to regenerate eyes, their hearts, and jaws should anything happen to them.
Like lizards, people would keep salamanders as pets because of the low cost of having them, and they are very distinctive pets to have.
- Mexican Tetra
The river-dwelling species of the Mexican tetra is on scientists’ radar because of their capability to regenerate their hearts.
If humans can harness this ability to regenerate heart tissue, it would improve some life-threatening conditions. Only the river-dwelling variety has these capabilities, while the cave-dwelling species seemed to have lost this ability over the years.
- Planarian
Like the flatworm, the Planarian (also a type of worm) can regenerate into two new worms when cut in half.
Each of the planarians cut into pieces will turn into a new version of itself. These worms are not dangerous to humans and are found commonly in water sources around the globe.
- Sea Cucumber
Like some lizards lose their tails when they feel threatened, sea cucumbers could voluntarily drop one of their limbs as a defense technique against attackers.
The sea cucumber can then regenerate this body within as little as a week. It makes some of the fastest regenerative animal species.
Classifying Everything Together
When looking at the regenerative capabilities of these animals, it is truly an astonishing feature. Being able to replace any body part could be compared to superhero abilities.
There are so many medical conditions that would benefit from it if humans use the regenerative qualities. Although researchers and scientific professionals have been studying these animals for quite some time, they continue to be baffled by their remarkable capabilities.
