Zebrafish

Zebrafish have become biology's premiere regeneration research model because they regrow hearts, spinal cords, retinas, and fins—and do so while developing from embryo to adult in just three months. A zebrafish can have 20% of its heart surgically removed and regenerate fully functional cardiac tissue within 60 days. This regeneration is more limited than the axolotl's whole-limb regrowth but occurs in an organism cheap, fast-breeding, and transparent enough for microscopic study.

The zebrafish's value lies in research accessibility, not regenerative supremacy. Scientists can observe regeneration happening in real-time through transparent embryos and larvae. Genetic manipulation is straightforward. Breeding populations provide statistical power. The organism became dominant in regeneration research not because it regenerates best but because it's easiest to study. Practicality trumped perfection.

For business strategy, the zebrafish illustrates how 'good enough' combined with superior accessibility often beats optimal capability with inferior accessibility. The axolotl regenerates more impressively but is harder to study, breeds slowly, and faces extinction. Zebrafish are abundant, cheap, and practical. Similarly, technologies or products that are slightly inferior but dramatically more accessible often dominate: VHS over Betamax, Windows over Unix desktops, standard containers over optimized shipping.

The zebrafish's transparency adds another dimension: organizations benefit from being observable during regeneration or change processes. Companies that communicate openly during transformations—sharing metrics, acknowledging setbacks, explaining strategies—often build more stakeholder confidence than those regenerating opaquely. The zebrafish's literal transparency enables research; organizational transparency enables trust.