Precocial species in birds and mammals are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. They are normally nidifugous, meaning that they leave the nest shortly after birth or hatching. Altricial species are those in which the young are underdeveloped at the time of birth, but with the aid of their parents mature after birth. These categories form a continuum, without distinct gaps between them.
In fish, this often refers to the presence or absence of a stomach: precocial larvae have one at the onset of first feeding whereas altricial fish do not.[1] Depending on the species, the larvae may develop a functional stomach during metamorphosis (gastric) or remain stomachless (agastric).
- ^ Rønnestad, Ivar; Yúfera, Manuel; Ueberschär, Bernd; Ribeiro, Laura; Saele, Øystein; Boglione, Clara (May 2013). "Feeding behaviour and digestive physiology in larval fish: current knowledge, and gaps and bottlenecks in research". Reviews in Aquaculture. 5: S59–S98. doi:10.1111/raq.12010. hdl:2108/99721.