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neoteny

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
ne·ot·e·ny  (n-tn-)
n.
1. Retention of juvenile characteristics in the adults of a species, as among certain amphibians.
2. The attainment of sexual maturity by an organism still in its larval stage.

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

neo·tenic (n-tnk, -tnk), ne·ote·nous (-tn-s) adj.

neoteny [nɪˈɒtənɪ]
n
(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Zoology) the persistence of larval or fetal features in the adult form of an animal. For example, the adult axolotl, a salamander, retains larval external gills See also paedogenesis
[from New Latin neotenia, from Greek neo- + teinein to stretch]
neotenic  [ˌniːəʊˈtɛnɪk], neotenous adj

neoteny  (n-tn-)
1. 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.
2. 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.

neoteny
the capacity or state of becoming sexually mature in the larval stage. — neotenous, adj.
See also: Insects
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.neoteny - 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
evolutionary trend - a general direction of evolutionary change


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Kevin Carroll: Nurture your neoteny (juvenilization) I heard the term neoteny used several years ago by Dr.
Her topics are the origin of somatic and germ cells during larval stages and juvenile periods; the male reproductive system, testis development and structure, urogenital connections and reproductive tract, spermatogenesis, and regulation of the reproductive cycle; the female reproductive system; and early embryonic and post-embryonic development, direct development, and neoteny.
Beauty rears its ugly head, of course: there would be no "Wonderful Tonight" without Pattie's long blonde hair, corn-flower-blue eyes, neoteny (the retention of such juvenile characteristics as large, widely-spaced eyes), and diastema (that adorable little space between the front teeth that drove director Les Blank, for example, so mad he made a film in 1987 called "Gap-Toothed Women" to celebrate it).
 
 
 
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