Examples of oviparous animals

One of the two big ways of reproduction of animals is oviparity. That the vast majority of insects have this form of reproduction makes it much more used than viviparity, with many more oviparous species. To get to know oviparous animals, today in this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to talk about examples of oviparous animals.

Oviparous animals are those whose way of reproducing consists of the laying eggs outside, being in the external world where they complete their development before hatching.

Oviparous can base their reproduction on dry eggs or soft eggs. Animals with dry eggs deposit them after internal fertilization. On the other hand, animals with soft eggs (generally animals that live in water) are deposited before being fertilized, this being called external fertilization.

We must not confuse the oviparous with the ovoviviparous, being the second animals that lay eggs, but are cared for inside the mother until they are formed. Therefore, the ovoviviparous have a way of reproducing halfway between the oviparous and the oviparous. viviparous.

Before talking about the examples of oviparous animals, we must comment on the different characteristics that this class of animals have, to differentiate them from viviparous ones. Some of these features are as follows:

1. The feeding of the young takes place inside the egg.
2. Many of the oviparous animals lay their eggs in their nest, to be able to incubate them until they hatch.
3. The number of eggs varies with each species, with animals that lay hundreds of eggs and others that lay only ten.
4. The weather that the eggs take time to hatch depends on the species, there are species whose eggs hatch in a couple of weeks.
5. Most species incubate the eggs to give it heat, the species that do not usually live in warm climates where it is not necessary.
6. The oviparous hatchlings inside the egg are not fully developed, unlike the viviparous that already leave the mother fully formed.
7. Animal eggs are part of the diet of many species, being a great disadvantage with respect to predators. This causes them to have a high mortality.
8. Oviparous animals are vestiges of ancient animals, being a reproduction that has not evolved since then, contrary to viviparity.

The oviparous include many more kinds of animals than the viviparous, with practically all groups of animals having some oviparous representative. Therefore, it is important to know the examples of oviparous animals.

Birds

If we talk about oviparous, the group of animals that all come to mind are birds. All birds are oviparous, possessing an internal reproduction, and laying eggs with a hard cover, the so-called shell.

Mammals

In the lesson on viviparous we saw that the vast majority of mammals have viviparous reproduction, but the exception is the monotremes. This group is made up of the platypus and echidna, having an internal and oviparous reproduction. They are strange animals, having offspring through eggs, but also possessing characteristic mammae of many viviparous ones.

Fishes

The vast majority of fish have oviparous reproduction. Fish are characterized by external reproduction, in which the mother leaves the eggs in a nest to be fertilized by the male.

Reptiles

Most reptiles are oviparous, characterized by internal reproduction. The eggs of reptiles resemble those of birds, being eggs amniotic, that is, having a membrane that prevents them from drying out.

Amphibians

Most amphibians are oviparous, and are characterized by having both internal and external reproduction. They usually place their eggs in water, in order to avoid dryness, since they are not capable of laying amniotic eggs like birds and reptiles.

Invertebrates

The invertebrates They can have sexual or asexual reproduction, and in the case of sexual reproduction, they are all oviparous. Invertebrate animals undergo an evolution from hatching to adulthood, a kind of metamorphosis. The fact that the vast majority of invertebrates have oviparous reproduction is what causes it to be found in greater numbers in the animal world than it does viviparous.