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An egg case or egg capsule, often colloquially called a mermaid's purse, is the casing that surrounds the eggs of oviparous chondrichthyans. Living chondricthyans that produce egg cases include some sharks, skates and chimaeras. Egg cases typically contain one embryo, except for big skate and mottled skate egg cases, which contain up to 7 ...
The horn shark is preyed upon by larger fishes and the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris), which consumes adults, juveniles, and egg cases. In addition, they are captured and eaten by bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) at Catalina Island, and large marine snails are able to drill into their egg cases to extract the yolk. [6]
The thin-walled egg cases are brown with distinctive pale transverse bands; and have a slightly furry texture and long adhesive tendrils at the corners. They are smaller than those of other shyshark species, measuring 3.5–5 cm (1.4–2.0 in) long and 1.5–3 cm (0.59–1.18 in) across.
The female drops the egg capsules two (rarely four) at a time every 14 days, producing a total of 20–50 eggs per year. Each egg case measures 10 cm (3.9 in) long and 4 cm (1.6 in) wide. The young emerge after 120–130 days, at a length of 14–16 cm (5.5–6.5 in).
Some species are oviparous, laying their fertilized eggs in the water. In most oviparous shark species, an egg case with the consistency of leather protects the developing embryo(s). These cases may be corkscrewed into crevices for protection. The egg case is commonly called a mermaid's purse.
A crested bullhead shark feeding on an egg of the Port Jackson shark. The crested bullhead shark is a slow-moving, nocturnal species often seen wedging its head between rocks in search of food. It feeds primarily on the sea urchins Centrostephanus rodgersii and Heliocidaris erythrogramma , but has also been known to take a variety of other ...
Egg case with yolk. The swell shark is oviparous, laying two green or amber flattened eggs at a time. [1] [3] Fertilization occurs internally. [5] The egg cases become attached to kelp or the reef with tendrils. It has been suggested that the length of the tendrils depends on the amount of surf action the region is under. [4]
Reproductively, the frilled shark is an ovoviviparous animal born from an encapsulated egg retained within the mother shark's uterus. During gestation, the shark embryos develop in membranous egg-cases contained within the body of the mother shark, when the infant sharks emerge from their egg capsules in the uterus they feed on yolk until birth ...