From being shaped like screws to surprising colors, join me as I reveal to you 9 of the
weirdest eggs in the animal kingdom.
9.
Shark Eggs It is often forgotten that sharks lay eggs,
mainly because they seem like such massive creatures that laying eggs would be "beneath"
them.
Actually it depends on the species because some have live young, and others lay eggs.
And depending on the species that you're examining, you'll find some rather unique looking shark
eggs.
For example, Bullhead Sharks have an egg shell around the embryo that isn't round, but rather
auger-shaped.
The shell has two spirals that wrap around.
The reason for this is that when they're born from the mother, the eggs are put into cracks
in the ocean floor.
It's believed that this is due to the fact that predators would eat the eggs, and the
auger shape helps make sure they can get put in, but not taken out without great force
and precision.
In contrast, sharks like the Carpet Shark, Bamboo Shark, and Zebra Shark have eggs that
are more oval shaped, and actually have adhesive fibers that allow the eggs to actually stick
to the bottom of the ocean area they're in so that they don't get washed around.
Finally, Catsharks have eggs that don't have a very hard shell at all, and are actually
semi-transparent.
They're also only 2 inches long and have tendrils that attach to various objects in the area
so that they can remain rooted in place.
All this goes to show that even among creatures that have the same name (shark), they don't
all lay the same kind of eggs.
8.
The Argonaut Octopus The octopus species known as the Argonaut
is truly unique in terms of not just breeding, but how they lay their eggs.
When breeding time comes, the males will actually detach their reproductive organ and let it
"go find" females.
And when it's time for birth, the female Argonauts don't follow fellow Octopuses in regards to
putting their eggs in crevices or cracks in the ocean.
Instead, they actually go and make a "basket nest" into themselves.
They use minerals that are on their tentacles and slowly build up a basket for their eggs
to reside in.
And over time it gets bigger and bigger.
Finally, when the basket is complete, and the eggs are inside, the female will actually
go into the basket to protect the eggs.
And while the mother does have her head and tentacles outside the opening to ensure she
can move around, she's not afraid to fully hide within it if she feels the presence of
a predator.
The egg case itself is the largest that this genus of Octopus can make, as examples have
been found to be 300 millimeters long, in comparison to other octopuses who do this
and have only 67 millimeter long cases.
7.
Surinam Toad It is a natural instinct in the animal kingdom
for a mother to protect the eggs that she has just laid.
But when it comes to the Surinam, this mother takes a very extreme approach to ensure that
her soon to be toadlets get the protection that they need.
For you see, when a female Surinam Toad is ready to reproduce with a male, she will release
about 60-100 eggs from her body, and the male that she is mating with will fertilize them.
However, the male will then take the eggs he's fertilized, and then literally push the
eggs onto the mothers' back.
And not just for one egg, but for as many as he can fit onto the female.
These eggs actually stick to the mothers' back, and then over the course of some time,
the skin of the female toad will grow over the eggs themselves.
At first looking like a honeycomb hive, and then the skin will encompass them completely.
To those who find this toad before the eggs are covered, it creates a unique visual.
But just as unique, when the toadlets hatch from the eggs, they remain under the mothers'
skin for months until they're able to break out and live on their own.
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6.
American Robin A misguided belief among egg-laying creatures
is that the colors of the eggs are a signal as to the colors or nature of the parent.
That's not the case at all in many animals, especially the American Robin.
This creature is actually rather legendary for laying blue eggs, even though the bird
itself isn't blue in terms of body or feather coloring.
So how does such a non-blue bird lay blue eggs?
The answer is because the females make it that way via a pigment called Beliverden.
After the eggs themselves are laid, the female American Robin will put this pigment onto
the egg shells, thus turning them blue.
This may seem like a random thing, but the pigment/coloring of the eggs serves a dual
purpose for the Robin.
First, the pigment actually helps shield the eggs against UV radiation, ensuring an extra
level of protection during the early stages of development.
Also, the coloring of the eggs is a signal to the father that the children he has are
healthy.
Research has shown that the more blue the eggs are, the more content the father is that
the children will be healthy.
And thus, he'll stay around, feed them more, and ensure they grow up as best he can.
5.
Green Lacewing The Green Lacewing is an insect that is well-known
for having a unique kind of offspring.
And its development starts the moment that the eggs themselves are born from the mother.
To ensure that they are safe, and don't harm one another, the Green Lacewing will lower
each egg down a ways under a plant, and attach them to the plant via a strand of silk.
The eggs themselves will actually change colors when they're ready to hatch, going from a
white hue to a much darker tone.
The placement of the eggs isn't just to protect them from each other, it's to ensure that
they have what they need when they hatch.
Because when the baby Green Lacewings are born, they immediately go into a feeding frenzy
and eat just about anything they can find, even their brothers and sisters.
The mother does its best to place the eggs above a feeding spot so that they can eat
to their heart’s content when they are born.
4.
Seahorses Often regarded as one of the "cuter" animals
among the sea dwellers, Seahorses also have one of the more complex reproduction cycles
among animals.
It takes multiple bouts and cycles of reproduction for the eggs to come forth, and once they
do, they're not exactly in eggs per se, but rather, in small see-through pouches.
One of the more curious things about seahorses is that it is the male that takes care of
the eggs.
What's more, once these egg pouches are made, they're intentionally opened for a few seconds
to allow for seawater to come into them.
Filling them to the brim with water and securing certain reproductive material inside.
This serves as a kind of "protective environment", not unlike an incubator.
Once the eggs are filled, they're actually put into a "pouch wall" and spongy material
grows around them to help secure them even more.
The male will then provide them with certain hormones that allow for their growth.
And they'll continue to grow until they burst out of the pouch.
3.
Kiwis The Kiwi is a bird native to New Zealand,
and is one of many flightless birds that reside in our world.
But in regards to its eggs, it holds a world record.
Not for the size of the egg, but rather, the size of the egg in proportion to the size
of the mother itself.
You see, when comparing the egg size to the weight of the mother, the Kiwi lays the biggest
egg in the bird world.
For reference, when it is giving birth to an egg, the egg itself weighs about 20% of
the mother’s body weight.
The labor is so intense for the Kiwi that it can take up to a single month just to lay
one egg.
What's more, when in the final stages of egg laying, the Kiwi will find itself so "full"
of its egg that it actually can't eat.
But what makes these eggs so heavy?
That's because unlike many other bird eggs, the yolk of the Kiwis fills up 65% of the
area.
Compared 35-40% for most other birds.
And when they hatched, the baby Kiwi's are already fully feathered and ready to live
their lives without much help from the mother and father.
2.
Yellow-Headed Jawfish The animal kingdom has come up with many ways
to protect their young and unborn children that are in eggs, and when it comes to the
Yellow-Headed Jawfish, that means putting the eggs in their mouth in order to not just
keep an eye on them, but protect them from threats.
However, unlike many typical parental protections, it's not the mother that has the eggs in her
mouth.
Rather, it's the father that takes up the mantle of child protector.
What happens is that the mother will lay the eggs and fertilize them.
And once that process is taken care of, the father will come in and gather all the eggs
in his mouth.
Once complete, he'll start to incubate them, which can take over a weeks' time.
And in case you are curious, the father will have anywhere from 300-500 eggs in his mouth
during that time period.
Showing off not just the small size of the eggs, but the flexibility of the mouth of
the Yellow-Headed Jawfish.
1.
Ants Ants are known for being highly organized
creatures, which is why they live in colonies.
And when it's time for their Queen Ant to reproduce, they have a lot of work to do.
Mainly because once the Queen Ant finds a suitable place to put her eggs, she literally
goes to work.
By the end of said "work", the Queen Ant will have laid about 300,000 eggs.
To ensure that she stays alive during this process, the Queen Ant will live off of what's
inside her body in terms of fat and other nutrients.
And if she feels the need to eat, she'll use whatever is around her, even eating her own
wings.
But what might be considered the weirdest part about these 300,000 eggs is that the
Queen Ant quite literally chooses their fate.
She has the ability to fertilize whichever eggs she wants.
So if she chooses not to fertilize the eggs (they have two chromosomes for the record
that help determine their gender based on fertilization) they will become male Drone
Ants.
But if she does fertilize them, they'll become female worker ants.
The Queen Ant is even able to choose which female ant she bred will become a queen herself
and make a new colony.
That's a lot of power in a single mother.
Thanks for watching!
What do you think about these weird animal eggs?
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