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In animals, the process involves a sperm fusing with an ovum, which eventually leads to the development of an embryo. Depending on the animal species, the process can occur within the body of the female in internal fertilization, or outside in the case of external fertilization. The fertilized egg cell is known as the zygote. [2] [5]
The traditional modes of reproduction include oviparity, taken to be the ancestral condition, traditionally where either unfertilised oocytes or fertilised eggs are spawned, and viviparity traditionally including any mechanism where young are born live, or where the development of the young is supported by either parent in or on any part of their body.
Human babies are unique in the animal kingdom due to their large head size relative to their bodies. This has an effect on the birthing process for humans as the bipedal gait of a human causes the birthing canal to be relatively narrow and twisted in the middle.
A boa constrictor in the U.K. gave birth to 14 babies — without a mate. The process is called parthenogenesis, from the Greek words for “virgin” and “birth.” It tends to occur in ...
Plants constantly produce new tissues and structures throughout their life from meristems [36] located at the tips of organs, or between mature tissues. Thus, a living plant always has embryonic tissues. By contrast, an animal embryo will very early produce all of the body parts that it will ever have in its life. When the animal is born (or ...
Neoteny is seen in domesticated animals such as dogs and mice. [25] This is because there are more resources available, less competition for those resources, and with the lowered competition the animals expend less energy obtaining those resources. This allows them to mature and reproduce more quickly than their wild counterparts. [25]
Smaller species normally have a shorter gestation period than larger animals. [2] For example, a cat's gestation normally takes 58–65 days while an elephant's takes nearly 2 years (21 months). [3] However, growth does not necessarily determine the length of gestation for all species, especially for those with a breeding season. Species that ...
Prenatal development (from Latin natalis 'relating to birth') involves the development of the embryo and of the fetus during a viviparous animal's gestation.Prenatal development starts with fertilization, in the germinal stage of embryonic development, and continues in fetal development until birth.