The process or state of becoming tailless or losing one's tail during development or evolution.
From Latin 'a-' (without) + 'cauda' (tail) + '-escence' (a process of becoming). The noun form of 'acaudelescent,' describing the phenomenon itself rather than the adjective.
When tadpoles morph into adult frogs over weeks, they're literally undergoing 'acaudescence'—their tails shrink and disappear as they develop legs. Evolution does the same thing on a much larger timescale!
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