NEOTENY

Charles François (2004). NEOTENY, International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics, 2(2): 2246.

Collection	International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics
Year	2004
Vol. (num.)	2(2)
ID	◀ 2246 ▶
Object type	Discipline oriented

The conservation in an adult organism of embryonic or juvenile biological structures .

One of the most curious case of neoteny has been observed in the mexican salamandra axolotl (Amblistoma tigrinum) that is able to reproduce itself at the larval state.

It has been conjectured that humans are neotenic anthropoids. If so, neoteny could be an evolutive mechanism through a longer maintenance of adaptive plasticity.

See also