[ ni:'ɒt(ə)ni ]
■ noun Zoology
1》 the retention of juvenile features in the adult animal.
2》 the sexual maturity of an animal while it is still in a mainly larval state, as in the axolotl.
Derivatives
neotenic adjective
neotenous adjective
Origin
C19: coined in Ger. as Neotenie , from Gk neos 'new' (in the sense 'juvenile') + teinein 'extend'.