METAMORPHOSIS

METAMORPHOSIS

The new individuals which are born or hatched from the eggs continue to grow till they become adults. In some animals, the young ones may look very different from the adults. Recall the life cycle of the silkworm (egg \(\rightarrow\) larva or caterpillar \(\rightarrow\) pupa\(\rightarrow\) adult) you studied in Class VII. Frog is another such example (Fig. 9.10).

Figure 9.10: Life cycle of the frog

Observe the different stages of frog starting from the egg to the adult stage. We find that there are three distinct stages, that is, egg  tadpole (larva)  adult. Don’t the tadpoles look so different from the adults? Can you imagine that these tadpoles would someday become frogs? Similarly, the caterpillar or the pupa of silkworm looks very different from the adult moth. The features that are present in the adult are not found in these young ones. Then what happens to the tadpoles or caterpillars thereafter?

You must have seen a beautiful moth emerging out of the cocoon. In the case of tadpoles, they transform into adults capable of jumping and swimming. The transformation of the larva into an adult through drastic changes is called metamorphosis. What about the changes that we observe in our body as we grow? Do you think we too undergo metamorphosis? In human beings, body parts similar to those present in adults are present from the time of birth.

Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK