Question

What is the meaning of 'ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny'? Justify your answer.

Answer 1

Ontogeny means an organism’s development; phylogeny means its evolutionary history. The phrase proposes that development reflects aspects of ancestral history. Similarities such as pharyngeal structures and a tail-like region in early vertebrate embryos provide evidence of common ancestry, but embryos do not literally pass through the adult forms of their ancestors.