In biology, saltation (from Latin, saltus, "leap") is a sudden change from one generation to the next, that is large, or very large, in comparison with the usual variation of an organism. The term is used for occasionally hypothesized, nongradual changes—especially single-step speciation—that are atypical of, or violate, standard Darwinian evolution. The unorthodox emphasis on saltation as a means of evolutionary change is called saltationism.

See also: catastrophism, gradualism