Regeneration of the ophiuroid Amphiura filiformis

Regeneration of body parts lost following trauma, predation, or as a result of asexual reproduction has received much attention in recent years. Indeed, there are several reports in current volume, which deal with this problem. In terms of the cell biology of regeneration, most effort has been directed at a rather limited number of species and groups, for example, crinoids, asteroids and holothuroids (Candia Carnevali et al. 1998; Garcia-Arraras et al. 1998; Moss et al. 1998; Thorndyke & Candia Carnevali 2000 and this volume). In sharp contrast the ophiuroids have received scant attention. To a certain extent this is surprising since it is in ophiuroids that arm loss and regeneration is perhaps most common and in terms of their ecology, we know much about the role of autonomy and regeneration (Skold &Rosenberg 1996; Stancyk et al. 1994). It now seems most timely to re-visit the ophiuroids since they make excellent models for the study of regeneration and in particular the role of the nervous system, especially in terms of its mechanism of renewal and the part it plays in regulating the process itself.