What happens next? Can they regrow the lost limb?
Open in new window A nub-like covering developing into a limb bud, which is at first transparent and slowly unfolds. After one or more moults the bud (or ‘gel limb’ as it has been described) soon regenerates to the way it looked before the limb loss and will return to full size after a few moults. Sometimes this can trigger a number of moults one after the other as the crab struggles to regenerate all limbs successfully. Sensory neurons must grow and re-establish the appropriate connections with the neural network of the ventral nerve cord if the new limb is to exhibit its original function (Cooper, 98). Open in new window Open in new window (Fig. 1. and Fig. 2 from Cooper, 1998) References: Anatomy for Vetinary Technicians. Purdue University School of Vetinary Medicine http://www.vet.purdue.edu/~lamarch/term.htm Bergmann, M., Taylor, A.C. & Moore, P.G. 2001.
