NEOTENY

NEOTENY
Özge Şen
What is heterochrony?
According to Stephen Jay Gould’s definition,

heterochrony, the most comprehensive term, is
defined as phylogenetic shift in the timing, Click icon to add picture
rate, or duration of expression of a feature
between ancestors and descendants (Shaffer,
2013).
• The term, heterochrony, includes both

increased and decreased form of
development.
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Types of heterochrony
The hierarchical classification of heterochrony (based on

Alberch et al. 1979 in McNamara, 2012)
05.2023 neoteny 3
What is neoteny?
retardation of development
Neoteny is one way of achieving
pedomorphosis, where somatic development is Click icon to add picture
slowed down, but sexual maturity stays on the
ancestral time course, resulting in a sexually
mature descendant adult that is relatively
juvenile with respect to its immediate ancestor
(Shaffer, 2013).
Genes, hormones, and environmental factors
can cause neoteny.
05.2023 neoteny 4
Some Neotenic Aspects
NEED FOR AFFECTION
CURIOSITY
SOMATIC DEVELOPMENT
PLAYFULNESS LONGER LIFESPAN

05.2023 neoteny 6
Neotenic Examples
Axolotls – a salemander type in Mexico, have
their gills outside their body and live their lives
under water. It is found out that when an
axolotl population is taken out of water, they
can turn into exactly the same specie as the
North American salemander, which lives on
land and breathes lung.
• This is an evidence for axolotls are one type
of salemander that have neotenic aspects.
(Bakırcı, 2011).
05.2023 neoteny 7
Neotenic Examples
A group of bird species cannot fly even though
they have wings – named «flightless birds»
All birds possess the morphology of
flightlessness at some embryonic stage.
According to the neotenic point of view, loss of
flight mechanism occurs in adult birds when
one or few genes change.
(Bakırcı, 2011).
Thus, it is possible for birds such as gruiform
to lose the ability to fly in a few generations, if
they are placed in an isolated environment
(such as a small island) where the necessity for
flight is absent.
(Hooper Museum, n.d.)
05.2023 neoteny 8
Neoteny in Humans
«Genetic evidences suggest that neoteny can
explain why humans are so radically different
from chimpanzees» (Choi, 2009).
Neoteny gives us opportunity to understand
and explain how the evolution of humankind
Click icon to add picture
end up with relatively big and efficient brain.
(PŘÍVRATSKÝ, 1981)
• According to phylogeneticist Morris
Goodman, because neoteny basically means
an extended childhood duration, humans
catch the greater chance for brain
development (Choi, 2009).
05.2023 neoteny 9
Neoteny in Humans
• It is suggested that human ontogenesis proceeds at a slower rate than
in other primates; consequently adult humans retain features
characteristics of juvenile primates.
• Neoteny is thought to have central role in human evoulution: bigger
brain, more extensive dendrite branching, emergence of human-
specific cognitive abilities through an extended period of high
neuronal plasticity.
• The timing shift in development affects group of genes, prefrentially
expressed in grey-matter.
(Somel et al., 2009).
05.23 neoteny 10
Neoteny in Humans
• Delayed grey-matter maturation, which is also related to
synaptic elimination, in the human prefrontal cortex may
extend the period of neuronal plasticity, which is associated
with active learning.
• These alterations in timing of development provide humans
with additional time to acquire knowledge and skills.
(Somel et al., 2009).
05.2023 neoteny 11
Neoteny in Humans
• People with Down Syndrome share some similar physical

characteristics. The reason for this is that the chromosomal difference
observed in Down syndrome accelerates the neoteny process during
the embryological development of the individual (that is, when the
individual characteristics are not fully developed).
(Bakırcı, 2013).
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Relation with Attractiveness
For other animals, physical ideal is 100%
instinctively determined. For instance, a male
baboon has a fixed idea of what a desirable
female baboon look like. But for humans,
idelas of beatuy are learned and there is no
widely accepted human beauty (Jones, 1995).
Neotenous features were said to be particularly
important for women’s facial attractiveness:
women with baby-like features (such as large,
widely spaced eyes and a small nose and chin)
were judged to be the most attractive in cross-
cultural studies (Swami & Harris, 2012).
05.2023 neoteny 13
references
Bakırcı, Ç. M. (2011). Heterokroni, Neoteni (Çocuk Görünümlülük) ve Sıçramalı Evrim. Evrim Ağacı. Retrieved April 30, 2023. from
https://evrimagaci.org/s/268
Bakırcı, Ç. M. (2013, March 21). Down Sendromu, Oluşumu, Evrimsel Anlamı. Evrim Ağacı. Retrieved April 30, 2023. from
https://evrimagaci.org/s/359
Choi, C. Q. (2009). Being More Infantile May Have Led to Bigger Brains. Scientific American. Retrieved May 3, 2023, from
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/being-more-infantile/
Jones, D. (1995). Sexual Selection, Physical Attractiveness, and Facial Neoteny: Cross-cultural Evidence and Implications [and Comments
and Reply]. Current Anthropology, 36(5), 2744016.
McNamara, K.J. Heterochrony: the Evolution of Development. Evo Edu Outreach 5, 203–218 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12052-012-
0420-3
Shaffer, H. B. (2013). Neoteny. In Brenner’s Encyclopedia of Genetics (2nd ed., Vol. 5, pp. 26–27). Elsevier Inc.
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-374984-0.01027-5
Somel M, Franz H, Yan Z, Lorenc A, Guo S, Giger T, et al. Transcriptional neoteny in the human brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. (2009)
106:5743–8. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0900544106
Swami, V., & Harris, A. S. (2012). Evolutionary Perspectives on Physical Appearance. In Encyclopedia of Body Image and Human
Appearance (Vol. 1, pp. 404–411). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-384925-0.00065-1
PŘÍVRATSKÝ, V. (1981). NEOTENY AND ITS ROLE IN THE PROCESS OF HOMINIZATION. Anthropologie (1962-), 19(3), 219–230.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/26295403
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Özge Şen
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NEOTENY

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NEOTENY

According to Stephen Jay Gould’s definition,

• The term, heterochrony, includes both

The hierarchical classification of heterochrony (based on

PLAYFULNESS LONGER LIFESPAN

• People with Down Syndrome share some similar physical

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