Having gills that fall off or are shed during development, especially in certain amphibians and aquatic larvae.
From Latin caducus (falling, perishable) + branchia (gills) + -ate (having). The term evolved in zoological taxonomy to describe organisms that lose their gill structures as they mature.
Tadpoles are caducibranchiate—they have gills to breathe underwater, but when they transform into frogs, those gills disappear and are replaced by lungs! It's one of nature's most dramatic career changes.
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