meaning "differeny time") is a evolutionary (genetically determined) change in the timing of developmental events or a change in the growth rate, as compared to the same events in ancestors. For example, the time it takes to grow to adulthood may change over time.

In biology, heterochrony is defined as a developmental change in the timing of events, leading to changes in size and shape. There are two main components, namely (i) the onset and offset of a particular process, and (ii) the rate at which the process operates. A developmental process in one species can only be described as heterochronic in relation to the same process in another species, considered the basal or ancestral state, which operates with different onset and/or offset times, and/or at different rates.