Superficial cleavage

Definition
noun
(embryology) A meroblastic cleavage wherein mitosis occurs without cytokinesis, resulting in many nuclei, which migrate to the periphery of a centrolecithal egg.
Supplement
This type of cleavage is characteristic of insects that have centrolecithal eggs (i.e. the yolk is located in the center of the egg cell).
See also: meroblastic cleavage, discoidal cleavage