metamorphosis

Metamorphosis is a process in biology by which an individual physically develops after birth or hatching, and involves significant change in form as well as growth and differentiation. It usually accompanies a change of habitat or of habits, but may occur without such change. It was once thought that, in those cases where the animal's habitat remains unchanged, metamorphosis followed a series of forms representing evolutionary ancestors of the species in question (see ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny), but this is no longer thought to be true.

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