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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ne·ot·e·ny

Audio Help [nee-ot-n-ee] Pronunciation Key

–noun Biology.

1.	Also called pedogenesis. the production of offspring by an organism in its larval or juvenile form; the elimination of the adult phase of the life cycle.

2.	a slowing of the rate of development with the consequent retention in adulthood of a feature or features that appeared in an earlier phase in the life cycle of ancestral individuals: Neoteny in the ostrich has resulted in adult birds sporting the down feathers of nestlings.

[Origin: 1900–05; < NL neoténia < Gk neo- neo- + teín(ein) to stretch + -ia -y³

]

—Related forms

ne·ot·e·nous

Audio Help [nee-ot-n-uh

s] Pronunciation Key, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
neoteny

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ne·ot·e·ny Audio Help (nē-ŏt'n-ē) Pronunciation Key
n.

Retention of juvenile characteristics in the adults of a species, as among certain amphibians.
The attainment of sexual maturity by an organism still in its larval stage.

[New Latin neotenia : neo- + Greek teinein, ten-, to extend; see tenesmus.]

ne'o·ten'ic (nē'ə-těn'ĭk, -tē'nĭk), ne·ot'e·nous (-ŏt'n-əs) adj.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
neoteny

retention of juvenile characteristics in adult life, 1901, from Ger. neotenie (1884), from Gk. neos "young" + teinein "to extend" (see tenet).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

neoteny
noun
an evolutionary trend to be born earlier so that development is cut off at an earlier stage and juvenile characteristics are retained in adults of the species

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

neoteny Audio Help (nē-ŏt'n-ē) Pronunciation Key

The retention of juvenile characteristics in the adults of a species. Humans, for example, are sometimes said to demonstrate neoteny by retaining through adulthood the relatively large head and hairlessness characteristic of very young primates. The body proportions of flightless birds, which resemble those of fetal flying birds, are also considered to be evidence of neoteny.
The attainment of sexual maturity by an organism still in its larval stage, seen in certain amphibians and insects. Certain species of salamanders, for instance, demonstrate neoteny as they become sexually mature but remain aquatic and do not develop legs. Neoteny sometimes occurs in response to environmental stresses such as low temperature or lack of iodine (which is essential for the thyroid gland). If environmental conditions improve, the organism can often develop into a fully mature adult form.