Animals That Hatch From Eggs

An animal is anything living and breathing that can acquire it's own food through a mouth and digest it other then man. It also must be able to have a response to things and have the ability to react to stimuli. This gives a wide diversity to what is considered part of the animal world. This includes all animals of the bird, reptile and mammals, as well as the vast assortment of insects. While several types of animals give birth to their babies, many babies are hatched from eggs.

Birds

Everyone knows birds hatch from eggs and the main ones we think about are chickens. There are birds as small as a hummingbird and as large as an ostrich, all of which hatch from eggs. Bird's eggs come in an assortment of colors and a large assortment of sizes.

Reptiles

Snakes come from eggs that are not like other eggs. The texture of their eggs are similar to leather. When the young are ready to hatch, they use a special tooth called an egg tooth to break through the shell. Once they have hatched, the egg tooth is no longer needed and falls out.

Some lizards such as the iguanas, water dragons and geckos, to name just a few, lay eggs. Lizards like to lay their eggs in soil that is sandy and moist. Depending on the type of lizard, it can lay up to 100 eggs, but the average number they lay is between five to twenty eggs.

Turtles usually lay their eggs in soft, moist sand, but some lay them under water. Turtles can lay up to 200 at a time, but most will lay between 50 to 160 eggs.

Fish

There are two types of fish in terms of how they breed. Live bearers and egg layers. The live bearers actually lay eggs, but they keep them safe in their bodies until they hatch. The egg layers will hide the eggs in plants or make nests hidden away in rocks or little caves. Some fish like salmon lay their eggs in stream beds, and after they have laid all their eggs, the salmon die.

Mammals

When the Platypus is ready to lay her eggs, she seals herself up in a small nest. Then, she will lay one or two at a time and hold them for up to ten days until they hatch. Then, the female platypus will nurse the babies on milk for three months until they are old enough to start swimming.

The Echidna is an egg-laying mammal which produces a pouch at the beginning of mating season. After mating, the female places the egg in
the pouch and carries it until it hatches. The young are carried and nursed on milk while in the pouch.

Insects

Earthworms hatch from eggs. After earthworms mate, they lay their eggs in the soil. Then, they cover them with a thin mucous membrane that hardens and creates a cocoon for them until they hatch.

Ladybugs lay tiny eggs on the undersides of leaves. When these hatch, they turn into small alligator-type insects that are black with orange spots
on them. These later turn into the orange and black ladybugs we all know.

This is just a sample of all the egg laying animals in the world. There are just too many to mention them all here. The world of animals is fascinating and we need to understand it more to appreciate the world we live in.