Regeneration in Salaria pavo (Blenniidae, Teleostei). Histogenesis of the regenerating pectoral fin suggests different mechanisms for morphogenesis and structural maintenance.

The pectoral fin of blennies is differentiated into a dorsal field and a ventral hook field. A histogenetic analysis of the regenerating pectoral fin was related to two questions. First, are histological specializations of the hook field responsible for the impairment of the regenerative capacity of pectoral fins of blennies? Second, can analysis of the temporal sequence of histogenetic events be used to make testable predictions about the tissue interactions required to re-establish the adult pattern? Regeneration of pectoral fins was examined in Salaria pavo (Blenniidae, Teleostei). Approximately 80% of the length of the fin rays was amputated. Fin ray stumps were evaluated 7, 14, 24, 48 and 72 h after amputation, regenerates 4, 5, and 6 days after amputation and at length of about 30%, 50% and 60% regeneration of the original fin length. The regeneration process is subdivided into four stages: wound healing, blastema formation, fin ray formation and distal outgrowth and differentiation of hook characters. Analysis of the early events of regeneration, wound healing, blastema formation and distal outgrowth, yielded no profound differences from those of conventional fins in general. Impairment of regenerative capacity becomes manifested before histological differentiation of hook characters, and it is thus unlikely that their presence is the proximate cause of heteromorphic regeneration. The sequence in which the anatomical specializations characteristic of fin hooks (lepidotrichal cord, cuticle, fin web regression) appear was variable. Detailed analysis of older regenerates revealed a more regular pattern. In the first phase the characters appear to be largely independently organized, while they become locally correlated later. It is concluded that the anatomical differentiation passes through two stages, initiation of anatomical differentiation, and then mutual adjustment of character expression leading to spatially correlated expression of the lepidotrichal cord, the cuticle and the fin web regression.