| variation in traits such as body weight or height in which a series of types are distributed on a continuum, not grouped into discrete categories |
| the ability of a population to maintain or increase its numbers in succeeding generations |
recapitulation (ˌriːkəˌpɪtjʊˈleɪʃən) ![]() | |
| —n | |
| 1. | the act of recapitulating, esp summing up, as at the end of a speech |
| 2. | biology Compare caenogenesis Also called: palingenesis the apparent repetition in the embryonic development of an animal of the changes that occurred during its evolutionary history |
| 3. | music the repeating of earlier themes, esp when forming the final section of a movement in sonata form |