Oviparous definition

An oviparous animal is an animal that produces eggs that later hatch to produce the young ones after being propelled out of the body of the female.

• Oviparity is the property of these animals where the fertilization may be external or internal, but the young ones are always hatched out of the body.
• Oviparous animals include most fishes, amphibians, reptiles, and even birds. Some invertebrates like insects are also oviparous.
• Ovoviviparous is another group where the eggs hatch inside the body of the animals, and the young ones come out. This is common in some snakes, sharks, and other animals.
• Oviparity has been an evolutionary strategy in many animals where some produce many small and fragile eggs while others produce few but strong and large eggs.
• Thus, the production of many eggs increases their chances of survival and thus works as a strategy for reproductive fitness.
• Some animals like frogs might undergo external fertilization where the female first lays the eggs, and the male comes to spread its sperm to fertilize the egg. The fertilized egg then develops until a tadpole hatches out of it.
• However, in other animals like hen, the male inseminates the female, resulting in internal fertilization. The female then lays and looks after the fertilized egg hatches into a chick.
• The eggs of oviparous animals are covered with hard or soft shells, depending on the animals. The size of the eggs is also characteristic of the animal.
• After laying the eggs, some animals sit on the eggs to keep them warm while others bury the eggs in the sand.
• In reptiles, the temperature of the egg is critical during embryonic development as it determines the sex of the offspring.
• Oviparous animals usually produce eggs at a particular time of the year depending on the availability of food as they provide nutrients to the egg through the yolk sac.
• Chickens lay eggs that might or might not be fertilized. In the case of the unfertilized egg, the egg doesn’t hatch to produce a young one but instead is taken by humans as a source of the nutrient.
• Examples of oviparous animals include frogs, snakes, lizards, hens, duck, fishes, shark, penguins, butterflies, octopus, etc.