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Animal lists · 12 entries

Animals That Regrow Body Parts

Regeneration capacity varies enormously — axolotls can regrow limbs, jaws and parts of the brain, starfish can regenerate entire bodies from a single arm, and deer regrow antlers annually — ranked here by extent of tissue that can be replaced, not by healing alone.

Updated 25 July 2026

Regeneration is not healing. Scar tissue repair and full structural regrowth with function restored are different processes. A lizard tail regrown without vertebrae is regeneration of a sort, but it is not equivalent to an axolotl regrowing a fully functional limb with bones, nerves and joints.

This list ranks species by the extent and functional quality of body parts they can regenerate. Annual antler regrowth in deer is included because it is genuine de novo bone formation, even though it occurs on schedule rather than in response to injury.

How this list was compiled

Entries are ranked by extent and functional quality of regenerated tissue. Simple wound healing without structural regrowth is excluded. Regeneration of internal organs, limbs, tails and appendages are distinguished. Annual regrowth cycles — such as antlers — are included where they represent genuine de novo tissue formation. Species where regrown parts lack full function are noted.

Animals That Regrow Body Parts

  1. Axolotl

    Limbs, jaws, heart, brain tissue

    Can regenerate complex structures including parts of the brain without scarring. The standard model for regeneration research.

  2. Starfish

    Entire body from one arm (some species)

    Must include part of the central disc. Not all species can regenerate a full body from a single arm.

  3. Planarian flatworm

    Entire body from fragment

    Can regenerate a complete individual from a piece roughly 1/279th of the original body. Not a vertebrate.

  4. Salamander

    Limbs, tail, jaw, lens

    Regrows fully functional limbs with correct bone, nerve and muscle patterning. More complete than lizard tail regrowth.

  5. Lizard

    Tail (without vertebrae)

    Autotomy — deliberate tail drop. Regrown tail contains cartilage rod, not bone, and lacks original musculature.

  6. Deer

    Antlers annually

    Antlers are the fastest-growing bone in any mammal — up to 2.5 cm per day. Shed and regrown each year.

  7. Sponge

    Entire body from cells

    Can reassemble from dissociated cells. Among the most regenerative animals but barely organised by human standards.

  8. Hydra

    Entire body from fragment

    Tiny freshwater cnidarian. Can regenerate completely from a small tissue piece in days.

  9. Shark

    Teeth continuously replaced

    Rows of replacement teeth rotate forward throughout life. Functional regrowth, though not injury-triggered.

  10. Crab

    Claws and legs through moulting

    Regrows appendages over several moults after autotomy. Each moult produces progressively more complete limbs.

  11. Sea cucumber

    Internal organs expelled and regrown

    Eviscerates — expels internal organs — under stress and regenerates them over weeks.

  12. Zebrafish

    Heart, fins, retina

    Adult zebrafish regenerate heart muscle after significant damage — rare among vertebrates.

Key facts

  • Axolotls can regenerate limbs, jaw, heart tissue and parts of the brain — the most versatile vertebrate regeneration known.
  • Starfish can regenerate an entire body from a single arm if part of the central disc is included.
  • Lizard tail regrowth produces a functional but anatomically simplified tail without bone — not equivalent to original.
  • Deer antlers are genuine de novo bone formation, regrowing up to 2.5 cm per day — the fastest bone growth known.
  • Salamanders regrow fully functional limbs with correct patterning; lizards regrow simplified tails.
  • Regeneration capacity declines with complexity — sponges and flatworms regenerate most completely; mammals barely regenerate at all.

Animals That Regrow Body Parts: frequently asked questions

Which animals can regrow body parts?
Axolotls, salamanders, starfish, lizards, crabs, sea cucumbers and deer (antlers annually). Flatworms and sponges can regenerate entire bodies from fragments.
Can axolotls regrow limbs?
Yes — and also jaw, heart tissue and parts of the brain. Regenerated limbs are fully functional with correct bone, nerve and muscle patterning, without scarring.
Do lizard tails grow back?
Yes, but the regrown tail contains a cartilage rod instead of vertebrae and lacks the original musculature. It is a functional but anatomically simplified replacement.
Can starfish regrow from one arm?
Some species can, provided the detached arm includes part of the central disc. An arm alone without disc tissue cannot regenerate a full body.
Why can't humans regrow limbs?
Mammals generally scar rather than regenerate. The molecular pathways for regeneration exist in embryonic development but are largely switched off in adults. Axolotls retain these pathways throughout life.
Do deer antlers count as regeneration?
Yes — antlers are shed and regrown annually through genuine de novo bone formation, among the fastest tissue growth in any mammal.

Sources

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