Meroblastic or partial cleavage

The egg does not divide totally because divisions are restricted to only a part of the egg where as the rest of the egg remains completely uncleaved. It is of two types:

A. Discoidal meroblastic cleavage: It occurs in the heavily yoked macrolecithal and highly telolecithal eggs, as for instance in cephalopod molluscs, reptiles, birds and monotremes (egg laying mammals). The cleavage is restricted to the cytoplasmic germinal disc located at the animal pole. Even the germinal disc divides incompletely where as the entire yolk mass remains undivided.

B. Superficial meroblastic cleavage: This takes place in the centrolecithal eggs of insects. Cell divisions are restricted to the peripheral cytoplasmic layer whereas the centrally located yolky is left undivided.