what does this mean -ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny?

Answer 1

It is the idea (now discredited), that the development of a fetus is a step-by-step re-enactment of evolution.

Otogeny is the development and growth of an individual (e.g. the development from an embryo during gestation).

Phylogeny is the evolutionary history of a species.

So the phase means that the stages that an embryo goes through during development to a fully formed offspring, repeat ("recapitulate") the stages of evolution.

This was a biological law (also known as the biogentic law) proposed by Ernst Haeckel. It has since been discredited, as there are many stages that an embryo goes through in a different order than the pylogenetic history of the species, or are skipped altogether.

However, the idea is still accurate in a weaker sense ... while embryo development is not an exact, stage-by-stage re-enactment of evolution, there are many features that appear and disappear during development that are throwbacks to previous evolutionary forms. For example, mammal embryos go through a phase where they have gill slits; humans and other tail-less apes go through a phase with a distinct tail; dolphin embryos have rear leg buds, evidence of earlier ancestors that walked on land.

See the source for more information.

Answer 2

Recapitulates Phylogeny

Answer 3

Ontogeny (also ontogenesis or morphogenesis) describes the origin and the development of an organism from the fertilized egg to its mature form. Ontogeny is studied in developmental biology.

Ontogeny is better defined as the history of structural change in a unity, which can be a cell, an organism, or a society of organisms, without the loss of the organization that allows that unity to exist
The theory of recapitulation, also called the biogenetic law or ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny, is a theory in biology which attempts to explain apparent similarities between humans and other animals. First espoused in 1866 by German zoologist Ernst Haeckel, a contemporary of Charles Darwin, the theory has been discredited in its absolute form ("strong recapitulation"), although recognized as being perhaps partly fruitful. In biology, ontogeny is the embryonal development process of a certain species, and phylogeny a species' evolutionary history. Observers have noted various connections between phylogeny and ontogeny, explained them with evolutionary theory and taken them as supporting evidence for that theory.

Answer 4

Recapitulates

Answer 5

Wasn't that the password with the big Robot in Washington, D.C. ?

Seriously, it is an observation that when an organism starts developing from a fertilized egg, it will display features of lower-developed organisms.