Relating to or describing a process of breakdown, degeneration, or backward evolution in organisms or substances.
Derived from catagenesis with the addition of the adjectival suffix -ic, maintaining the Greek root kata- (down) and genesis (origin). Primarily used in scientific and biological contexts.
Scientists use catagenetic processes to understand why some species lost abilities over time—like how some fish lost their eyes in dark caves, or how whale ancestors lost hind limbs.
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