2026/07/23 by Martine Mussies
Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Amphibian and Reptile Biology #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1007/s10441-026-09535-6
This article examines neoteny and regressive evolution in two emblematic amphibian species: Ambystoma mexicanum (axolotl) and Proteus anguinus (olm). Rather than framing larval persistence and trait loss as evolutionary shortcomings, the paper proposes an alternative interpretation in which developmental arrest functions as a viable population-level outcome of selection under specific ecological constraints, rather than as a developmental shortcoming. Drawing on evo-devo literature, endocrine regulation of metamorphosis, and comparative life-history analysis, the study argues that both species exemplify non-teleological evolutionary pathways. By foregrounding strategy over deficiency, the article contributes to broader debates on normativity, progress, and directionality in evolutionary biology.