ecdysis
Noun
Meaning
The act of shedding, or casting off, an outer cuticular layer, as in the case of serpents, lobsters, etc.; a coming out; as, the ecdysis of the pupa from its shell; exuviation.
Source: Webster's dictionarySynonyms
Antonyms
Hypernyms
Related terms
Phrases with the word
Derivatives
Examples
Within the last fifty years, the extraordinary growth of every department of physical science has spread among us mental food of so nutritious and stimulating a character that a new ecdysis seems imminent.
A spider with a small abdomen may be undernourished but more probably has recently undergone ecdysis.
Growth is accomplished by periodic shedding of the exoskeleton ( ecdysis ).
They underwent ecdysis in a similar manner to extant chelicerates, and most fossils are thought to be of exuviae, rather than cadavers.
Neurosecretory cells in an insect's brain secrete a hormone, the prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) that activates prothoracic glands, which secrete a second hormone, usually ecdysone (an ecdysteroid ), that induces ecdysis.
Not surprisingly, since males are generally smaller than females, the males of many species mature faster and do not undergo ecdysis as many times as the females before maturing.