METAMORPHOSIS - 3 reference results
metamorphosis [Gr.,=transformation], in zoology, term used to describe a form of development from egg to adult in which there is a series of distinct stages. Many insects, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans, and fishes undergo metamorphosis, which may involve a change in habitat, e.g., from water to land. Metamorphosis is called complete when there is no suggestion of the adult form in the larval stage, e.g., in the transformation from tadpole to frog or from larva to pupa to adult in bees and butterflies. When the successive larval stages resemble the adult (as in the grasshopper and the lobster), metamorphosis is called incomplete.
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Licensed from Columbia University Press
Licensed from Columbia University Press
In biology, any striking developmental change of an animal's form or structure, accompanied by physiological, biochemical, and behavioral changes. The best-known examples occur among insects, which may exhibit complete or incomplete metamorphosis (see nymph). The complete metamorphosis of butterflies, moths, and some other insects involves four stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis or cocoon), and adult. The change from tadpole to frog is an example of metamorphosis among amphibians; some echinoderms, crustaceans, mollusks, and tunicates also undergo metamorphosis.
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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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