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Metamorphosis
References & Edit History Related Topics
Images, Videos & Interactives
An adult dragonfly emerging from its brown nymph exoskeleton while clinging to a green stem, showing the process of metamorphosis. Tadpole A giant silk moth (family Saturniidae) with large, patterned brown and orange wings clings to a tree branch next to its cocoon. Ladybug larva and adult Botanical illustration by Anna Maria Sibylla Merian showing a sweet cherry branch with red fruit, a caterpillar, a chrysalis, a butterfly, and a silken cocoon on leaves. Illustration showing the metamorphosis of the American eel (Anguilla rostrata), with seven stages labeled A to G. The top three show increasingly larger transparent larvae, followed by three transitional forms, and ending with a more developed, elongated glass eel.
See toads engage in amphibious amplexus and witness metamorphosis of tadpoles into toads

Metamorphosis: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

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  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

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Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Article title updated for style. Nov 06, 2026
Modified link of Web site: PNAS - A transcription factor that enables metamorphosis. Oct 02, 2026
Added section headings. Aug 05, 2025
Added cross-references throughout. Media added. Jul 17, 2025
Add new Web site: The Royal Society Publishing - Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B - Complete metamorphosis of insects. Mar 12, 2025
Add new Web site: The University of Chicago Press Journals - The Evolutionary Ecology of Metamorphosis. Jan 28, 2025
Add new Web site: Cell Press - Current Biology - Revealing the mysteries of insect metamorphosis. Oct 08, 2024
Add new Web site: CORE - The biology of coral metamorphosis: Molecular responses of larvae to inducers of settlement and metamorphosis. Aug 27, 2024
Add new Web site: Pressbooks - Metamorphosis. Mar 01, 2024
Add new Web site: Frontiers - Frontiers in Marine Science - Larval settlement and metamorphosis of Mytilus coruscus in response to varying bacterial capsular polysaccharide. Jan 18, 2024
Add new Web site: The Royal Society Publishing - Complete metamorphosis of insects. Nov 24, 2023
Add new Web site: PNAS - A transcription factor that enables metamorphosis. Sep 28, 2023
Add new Web site: Australian Museum - Metamorphosis: a remarkable change. Jul 21, 2023
Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - Metamorphosis: The Hormonal Reactivation of Development. Apr 13, 2023
Add new Web site: Arizona State University - The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - Ask A Biologist - All about Metamorphosis. Feb 16, 2023
Add new Web site: Academia - Origin and Evolution of Insect Metamorphosis. Sep 06, 2022
Add new Web site: Academia - Origin and Evolution of Insect Metamorphosis. Sep 06, 2022
Add new Web site: American Museum of Natural History - Metamorphosis. Mar 04, 2019
Add new Web site: NeoK12 - Educational Videos and Games for School Kids - Metamorphosis. Nov 03, 2011
Media added. Aug 07, 2009
Added new Web site: Pacific Science Center - Metamorphosis. Apr 07, 2008
Added new Web site: PBS NATURE - The Body Changers. Jul 13, 2006
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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