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neoteny| In biology, the retention of some juvenile characteristics in an animal that seems otherwise mature. An example is provided by the axolotl, a salamander that can reproduce sexually although still in its larval form. |
| It has been suggested that new species could arise in this way, and that the human species evolved from its apelike ancestors by neoteny: in human fossil skulls, we see a developmental trend – that facially we resemble a young ape. |
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