Haeckel's theory that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny suggests that early development features were more widely shared among different animal groups than later features.

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Haeckel's theory suggests that during embryonic development, an organism goes through stages that reflect its evolutionary history, with early stages representing more ancient ancestors and later stages reflecting more recent evolutionary changes. Therefore, according to this theory, early developmental features were more widely shared among different animal groups than later features.

Haeckel's Theory That Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny Suggests That Early Development