Direct development
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Direct development is a concept in biology. It refers to forms of growth to adulthood that do not involve metamorphosis. An animal undergoes direct development if the immature organism resembles a small adult rather than having a distinct larval form.[1] A frog that hatches out of its egg as a small frog undergoes direct development. A frog that hatches out of its egg as a tadpole does not.
Direct development is the opposite of complete metamorphosis. An animal undergoes complete metamorphosis if it becomes a non-moving thing, for example a pupa in a cocoon, between its larval and adult stages.[2]
Examples
[edit | edit source]- The frog in the clade Brachycephaloidea is known for undergoing direct development.[3]
- Most frogs in the genus Callulina hatch out of their eggs as froglets.
- Springtails and mayflies, called ametabolous insects, undergo direct development.[4]
References
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