neoteny
Sign in to saveNeoteny (), also called juvenilization, is the delaying or slowing of the physiological, or somatic, development of an organism, typically an animal. Neoteny in modern humans is more significant than in other primates. In progenesis or paedogenesis, sexual development is accelerated.
Article
11 sectionsContents
- History and etymology
- In humans
- In domestic animals
- In other animals
- Amphibians
- Arthropods
- Amniotes
- Subcellular neoteny
- See also
- References
- Further reading
Neoteny (), also called juvenilization, is the delaying or slowing of the physiological, or somatic, development of an organism, typically an animal. Neoteny in modern humans is more significant than in other primates. In progenesis or paedogenesis, sexual development is accelerated.
Both neoteny and progenesis result in paedomorphism (as having the form typical of children) or paedomorphosis (changing towards forms typical of children), a type of heterochrony. It is the retention in adults of traits previously seen only in the young. Such retention is important in evolutionary biology, domestication, and evolutionary developmental biology. Some authors define paedomorphism as the retention of larval traits, as seen in salamanders.