In animals that do not regulate their body temperature by the production of heat, the proportion of the total developmental time spent in a particular developmental stage does not change with temperature. In the quasi-linear region of the relationship between developmental rate and temperature, all of the developmental stages appear to have the same species-specific lower developmental threshold. This trait, which is called developmental isomorphy, constrains developmental adaptations of ectotherms to their environments and facilitates the precise timing of life-history events.