Describing organisms or structures shaped by external environmental forces and pressures rather than internal genetic factors.
Combines Greek 'ekto-' (outside), 'dynamis' (force/power), and 'morphe' (shape/form). This scientific term emerged in early 20th-century biology to describe developmental plasticity.
A classic example is how wind-shaped trees on mountains look completely different from the same species in sheltered valleys—the genes are identical, but the external forces literally reshape the organism, which was mind-blowing to early biologists.
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