Names of animals that lay eggs

We throw you a quick question: What are the animals that reproduce through eggs called? If you have the answer in your head, remember it, because we are going to make another one.

What are the names of the animals that lay eggs

Well, first of all, let us go back to the two initial questions that we asked you in an introductory way. There is a difference between animals that reproduce through eggs and animals that lay eggs , and that is that not all of the former do the latter. We specify:

In relation to reproduction by means of eggs, there are oviparous animals and ovoviviparous animals . The difference? Oviparous animals are those animals that lay eggs in the external environment, where the embryos complete their development before hatching. Ovoviviparous animals also reproduce by means of eggs, but these remain inside the female until they hatch, so the offspring already come out alive to the outside environment.

In case the difference has not been clear to you yet, it is that oviparous animals expel their eggs from their body at the beginning of embryonic development and in ovoviviparous animals the embryos complete their development in eggs that are inside the body of the mother and expel the young alive. For this reason, ovoviviparous animals are found between oviparous (whose similarity is that the offspring comes out of an egg, but inside the mother) and viviparous (the offspring comes out already alive).

As we said, oviparous animals are those of which the offspring develop inside eggs that have been laid outside by the female, that is, the offspring develop outside the mother’s body. This is an evolutionary advantage since the survival rate is higher due to the protection that the egg provides to the embryo against, among other things, desiccation.

As for the care of the eggs, not all animals proceed in the same way in handling them. Some lay their eggs in nests placed in trees or on the ground, others, such as turtles , bury them under the sand and others, such as fish and amphibians, lay them in the water covered with a gelatinous layer that serves as protection. Ovipary is typical of birds, fish, reptiles, amphibiansinvertebrates such as many insects and mollusks and, although it is rare, mammals belonging to the group of monotremes: the platypus and the echidna.

These oviparous animals can be further classified according to whether the fertilization of the egg has occurred inside (internal fertilization) or outside (external fertilization) of the female’s body. In internal fertilization, the eggs are fertilized prior to laying by the female, that is, it occurs inside the female’s body, as occurs in birds and reptiles. The eggs of internally fertilized animals produce dry eggs that are exposed to the air.

On the other hand, in external fertilization, the females deposit the eggs and the males later fertilize them by spraying them with their sperm. This usually happens in the aquatic environment in fish species and some amphibians. In this case the eggs are soft and these animals are called ovuliparous , within the oviparous group.

Here are some examples of oviparous animals :

  • You repeat: crocodile, viper, alligator, iguana, turtle, Komodo dragon, lizard.
  • Amphibians: frog and toad.
  • Fish: salmon, trout, carp, tuna, cod, puffer fish, clown fish.
  • Insects: ant, bee, spider mite, butterfly, wasp, graveyard beetle, leaf beetle, dung beetle, rhinoceros beetle, ladybug, house fly, dung fly, mosquito, cicada, cockroach, scorpion, bed bug, cricket, worm of silk
  • Mollusks: squid, snail, octopus, slugs
  • Birds: penguin, sparrow, hen, hawk, parrot, condor, peacock, eagle, ostrich, stork, duck, goose, quail, dove, owl, owl, crow.
  • Mammals: platypus and echidna.

As we mentioned, ovoviviparous animals are the intermediate state between viviparous and oviparous. In his case, the egg remains inside the female, or in some cases inside the male like the seahorse, where it hatches when the embryo completes its development. It can also happen that when the egg is ready, the mother deposits them outside and they immediately hatch.

Some examples of ovoviviparous animals are:

  • Some species of sharks, such as the bull shark, dogfish, white shark, whale shark or tiger shark.
  • The Stingray.
  • Some species of snakes and vipers, such as anaconda, boa constrictor, puffing snake or garter snake.
  • Some species of iguanas and chameleons.
  • Skinks.
  • Lotions.
  • Some species of freshwater fish, such as gambusia or guppy.
  • The seahorse.
  • Some amphibians like the Surinam toad or some tropical frogs.

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