What would you call this process?

[CheertheSecond]

So there is this species that when an individual ages to a certain extend, they will turn into a cocoon and two versions of them will be spawned. Each version has a different mutation. They will fight and the killer will eat its victim so replenish their energy.

They will undergo this process many times for as long as they live.

 

[RepresentingDesire]

That honestly sounds like a mitosis on crack, like the individual seems more like a sub-species, the species as a whole seems to constantly test combat strenght.

This phenomenon is some cracked out mix version of how evolution seems to function

 

[soupsabaw]

That honestly sounds like a mitosis on crack, like the individual seems more like a sub-species, the species as a whole seems to constantly test combat strenght.

This phenomenon is some cracked out mix version of how evolution seems to function

Literally my first thought was mitosis lolll

 

[Deleteacc]

Metamorphic mitosis

 

[RepresentingCaution]

You'd need to occasionally spawn three or more of them (kinda like how humans sometimes have twins, triplets, etc.) and/or occasionally have two or mutations live to continue the species, unless you're aiming to write about the very last one in existence, because they'll eventually die out with that reproductive strategy. I'd think ones that ran away rather than fighting would establish themselves as a subspecies, too. They'd probably have to carry around a huge genome, and the metamorphic process would be accomplished by activating and deactivating certain genes rather than bringing in new mutations every time.

Epigenetic metamorphic twinning
Others are saying mitosis, but have you considered parthenogenesis as a mechanism for the reproduction?

Parthenogenesis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[CheertheSecond]

You'd need to occasionally spawn three or more of them (kinda like how humans sometimes have twins, triplets, etc.) and/or occasionally have two or mutations live to continue the species, unless you're aiming to write about the very last one in existence, because they'll eventually die out with that reproductive strategy. I'd think ones that ran away rather than fighting would establish themselves as a subspecies, too. They'd probably have to carry around a huge genome, and the metamorphic process would be accomplished by activating and deactivating certain genes rather than bringing in new mutations every time.

Epigenetic metamorphic twinning
Others are saying mitosis, but have you considered parthenogenesis as a mechanism for the reproduction?

Parthenogenesis - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

No. This is not a reproduction method. It's a part of the maturity of the species.

The 2 mutated versions created by the cocoon through this process can not undergo further division or sexual reproduction unless they kill and absorb the cells of the other half.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Sounds like a rather brutal form of evolution