Peramorphosis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In developmental biology, peramorphosis is a phylogenetic change in which individuals of a species mature past adulthood and take on hitherto unseen traits. It is the reverse of pedomorphosis.

"Hypermorphosis" is a form of peramorphosis which represents a delay in the offset of development.

[edit] Peramorphosis in fiction

• The Pak Protectors in Larry Niven's Known Space universe.

[edit] References

• Gould, Stephen Jay (1985). Ontogeny and Phylogeny. Cambridge: Belknap Press. ISBN 0-674-63941-3.