Spandrel (biology)

Do you know what a puzzle looks like? Sometimes when you finish putting all the pieces together, you might notice that some parts of the picture look kind of empty, like there's just blank space there. In biology, there's a similar thing that happens with the way an animal or a plant is put together.

When animals or plants develop and grow, certain parts of their body might end up not being used for anything in particular. These parts are called "spandrels." Spandrels aren't there for any specific purpose, they're just kind of leftover spaces that ended up being there as the body was put together.

But even though spandrels don't serve a specific purpose, sometimes they can end up playing an important role. For example, spandrels might be used as a place for something else to attach to - like a muscle or a tendon. Or, they might help to support other parts of the body.

Now, of course, animals and plants don't put themselves together like a puzzle. There's a lot of complicated processes that go into development and growth. But understanding the idea of spandrels can help scientists better understand how everything fits together and works the way it does!