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Ontogenesis

Ontogenesis refers to the sequence of events involved in the development of an individual organism from its birth to its death. This developmental history often involves a move from simplicity to higher complexity.

Ontogenesis should be distinguished from phylogenesis, which is the history of the evolution of a genetically related group of organisms. At one time, it was thought that "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" - that the ontogenesis of an individual organism mirrored the phylogenesis of its species. This view follows directly from a neo-Darwinian emphasis on evolution via small, gradual accumulated changes. However, the degree to which "ontogeny recapitualtes phylogeny" is now being reconsidered in the field of developmental biology.

Book Resources On Ontogenesis

Ontogeny and Phylogeny by Stephen Jay Gould by
The Ontogeny of Information by Susan Oyama and Richard C. Lewontin by
The Development of Animal Form by Alessandro Minelli by

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