Egg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search
This article is about biological eggs. For eggs as food, see Egg as food. For other uses, see Egg
(disambiguation).

Eggs of various birds, a reptile, various cartilaginous fish, a cuttlefishand various butterflies and moths. (Click
on image for key)

Diagram of a chicken egg in its 9th day. Membranes: allantois, chorion, amnion, and vitellus/ yolk.

The egg is the organic vessel containing the zygote in which an embryodevelops until it can survive
on its own; at which point the animal hatches. An egg results from fertilization of an egg cell.
Most arthropods, vertebrates(excluding mammals), and mollusks lay eggs, although some, such
as scorpions do not.
Reptile eggs, bird eggs, and monotreme eggs are laid out of water, and are surrounded by a
protective shell, either flexible or inflexible. Eggs laid on land or in nests are usually kept within a
warm and favorable temperature range while the embryo grows. When the embryo is adequately
 developed it hatches, i.e. breaks out of the egg's shell. Some embryos have a temporary egg
tooththey use to crack, pip, or break the eggshell or covering.
The largest recorded egg is from a whale shark, and was 30 cm × 14 cm × 9 cm (11.8 in × 5.5 in
× 3.5 in) in size.[1] Whale shark eggs typically hatch within the mother. At 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) and up to
17.8 cm × 14 cm (7.0 in × 5.5 in), the ostrich egg is the largest egg of any living bird,[2] though the
extinct elephant bird and some dinosaurs laid larger eggs. The bee hummingbirdproduces the
smallest known bird egg, which weighs half of a gram (around 0.02 oz). Some eggs laid by reptiles
and most fish, amphibians, insects and other invertebrates can be even smaller.
Reproductive structures similar to the egg in other kingdoms are termed "spores," or
in spermatophytes "seeds," or in gametophytes "egg cells".

Contents

• 1Eggs of different animal groups

o 1.1Fish and amphibian eggs
o 1.2Bird eggs
▪ 1.2.1Colors
▪ 1.2.2Shell
▪ 1.2.3Shape
▪ 1.2.4Predation
▪ 1.2.5Various examples
o 1.3Amniote eggs and embryos
o 1.4Mammalian eggs
o 1.5Invertebrate eggs
• 2Evolution and structure
• 3Scientific classifications
o 3.1Egg size and yolk
▪ 3.1.1Microlecithal
▪ 3.1.2Mesolecithal
▪ 3.1.3Macrolecithal
o 3.2Egg-laying reproduction
• 4Human use
o 4.1Food
▪ 4.1.1Eggs and Kashrut
o 4.2Vaccine manufacture
o 4.3Culture
• 5Collecting
• 6Gallery
• 7See also
• 8References

Eggs of different animal groups

Further information: egg cell
Several major groups of animals typically have readily distinguishable eggs.
 Overview of eggs from various animals

Class Types of eggs Development

Mesolecithal eggs, especially large Larval stage in lampreys, direct

Jawless fish
in hagfish[3] development in hagfish.[4][5]

Cartilaginous Direct development, viviparity in some

Macrolecithal eggs with egg capsule[3]
fish species[6]

Macrolecithal eggs, small to medium size,

Bony fish Larval stage, ovovivipary in some species.[8]
large eggs in the coelacanth[7]

Medium-sized mesolecithal eggs in all Tadpole stage, direct development in some

Amphibians
species.[7] species.[7]

Large macrolecithal eggs, develop

Reptiles Direct development, some ovoviviparious
independent of water.[9]

Large to very large macrolecithal eggs in all The young more or less fully developed, no
Birds
species, develop independent of water.[3] distinct larval stage.

Macrolecithal eggs Young little developed with indistinct larval

Mammals in monotremes and marsupials, extreme stage in monotremes and marsupials, direct
microlecithal eggs in placental mammals.[3] development in placentals.

Fish and amphibian eggs

See also: Ichthyoplankton and Spawn (biology)
Salmon eggs in different stages of development. In some only a few cells grow on top of the yolk, in the lower
right the blood vessels surround the yolk and in the upper left the black eyes are visible.

Diagram of a fish egg: A. vitelline membrane B. chorion C. yolk D. oil globule E. perivitelline space F. embryo

Salmon fry hatching. The larva has grown around the remains of the yolk and the remains of the soft,
transparent egg are discarded.

The most common reproductive strategy for fish is known as oviparity, in which the female lays
undeveloped eggs that are externally fertilized by a male. Typically large numbers of eggs are laid at
one time (an adult female cod can produce 4–6 million eggs in one spawning) and the eggs are then
left to develop without parental care. When the larvae hatch from the egg, they often carry the
remains of the yolk in a yolk sac which continues to nourish the larvae for a few days as they learn
how to swim. Once the yolk is consumed, there is a critical point after which they must learn how to
hunt and feed or they will die.
A few fish, notably the rays and most sharks use ovoviviparity in which the eggs are fertilized and
develop internally. However the larvae still grow inside the egg consuming the egg's yolk and without
any direct nourishment from the mother. The mother then gives birth to relatively mature young. In
certain instances, the physically most developed offspring will devour its smaller siblings for further
nutrition while still within the mother's body. This is known as intrauterine cannibalism.
In certain scenarios, some fish such as the hammerhead shark and reef sharkare viviparous, with
the egg being fertilized and developed internally, but with the mother also providing direct
nourishment.
The eggs of fish and amphibians are jellylike. Cartilagenous fish (sharks, skates, rays, chimaeras)
eggs are fertilized internally and exhibit a wide variety of both internal and external embryonic
development. Most fish species spawn eggs that are fertilized externally, typically with the male
inseminating the eggs after the female lays them. These eggs do not have a shell and would dry out
in the air. Even air-breathing amphibians lay their eggs in water, or in protective foam as with the
Coast foam-nest treefrog, Chiromantis xerampelina.
Bird eggs
Main article: Bird egg
Bird eggs are laid by females and incubated for a time that varies according to the species; a single
young hatches from each egg. Average clutch sizes range from one (as in condors) to about 17
(the grey partridge). Some birds lay eggs even when not fertilized (e.g. hens); it is not uncommon for
pet owners to find their lone bird nesting on a clutch of unfertilized eggs, which are sometimes called
wind-eggs.
Colors

Guillemot eggs

The default color of vertebrate eggs is the white of the calcium carbonate from which the shells are
made, but some birds, mainly passerines, produce colored eggs. The pigment biliverdin and its
zinc chelate give a green or blue ground color, and protoporphyrin produces reds and browns as a
ground color or as spotting.
Non-passerines typically have white eggs, except in some ground-nesting groups such as
the Charadriiformes, sandgrouse and nightjars, where camouflage is necessary, and
some parasitic cuckoos which have to match the passerine host's egg. Most passerines, in contrast,
lay colored eggs, even if there is no need of cryptic colors.
However some have suggested that the protoporphyrin markings on passerine eggs actually act to
reduce brittleness by acting as a solid state lubricant.[10] If there is insufficient calcium available in the
local soil, the egg shell may be thin, especially in a circle around the broad end. Protoporphyrin
speckling compensates for this, and increases inversely to the amount of calcium in the soil.[11]
For the same reason, later eggs in a clutch are more spotted than early ones as the female's store of
calcium is depleted.
The color of individual eggs is also genetically influenced, and appears to be inherited through the
mother only, suggesting that the gene responsible for pigmentation is on the sex determining W
chromosome (female birds are WZ, males ZZ).
It used to be thought that color was applied to the shell immediately before laying, but this research
shows that coloration is an integral part of the development of the shell, with the same protein
responsible for depositing calcium carbonate, or protoporphyrins when there is a lack of that mineral.
In species such as the common guillemot, which nest in large groups, each female's eggs have very
different markings, making it easier for females to identify their own eggs on the crowded cliff ledges
on which they breed.
Shell