It is estimated that there are around two million species of animals in the world Some, like dogs or cats, we can see them almost daily in our cities and we know endless facts about them, but there are less common animals that are full of curiosities.
This is the case of the ovoviviparous animals, which have a truly strange way of reproducing and many have curious and unusual characteristics.
If you are interested in animals and want to discover some unusual facts, here, on our site, we give some examples of ovoviviparous animals and curiosities referring to them.
What are ovoviviparous animals?
Animals oviparous, such as birds and many reptiles, reproduce by laying eggs that females lay in the environment (in a process known as "laying"), and after a period of incubation, these eggs hatch leaving the offspring from them and starting a new life abroad.
In animals viviparous, which are most mammals, such as dogs or humans, embryos develop in the inside the mother's womb, in a structure called the uterus, with the offspring going out to the outside after giving birth.
On the other hand, animals ovoviviparous develop in eggs that are inside the bodyof their mothers, but these eggs either hatch inside the mother's body, so that the young come out directly during childbirth, or they open outside, but immediately after being posts or very shortly thereafter.
Surely you have ever heard the following question: What came first, the chicken or the egg? Well, if the hen were an ovoviviparous animal, the answer would be very simple: both at the same time. Next we will see some examples of ovoviviparous animals quite curious.
The seahorse
The seahorse (Hippocampus), also known as the hippocampus, is a rather curious example of an ovoviviparous animal, since they are born at from eggs that hatch inside their parent.
During fertilization, the female seahorse transfers the eggs to the male, who houses them in a bag where, after a period of development, the eggs open and the young come out.
But this is not the only curiosity that these animals harbor, but also, contrary to what many think, they are not crustaceans, such as prawns or lobsters, butfishes In addition, they have an amazing Mimicry ability , and can change color to blend in with their surroundings.
The platypus
The Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus), which lives in and around Australia, is one of the strangest animals around.
Despite being a mammal, has a beak duck-like and webbed feet, adapted to aquatic life. In fact, it is said that the first Westerners who saw it believed that it was a joke, and that someone had tried to fool them by sticking a beak to a beaver or other similar animal.
In addition, the platypus has a poisonous spur on its ankles, making it one of the few poisonous mammals in existence.
In any case, despite being cited in numerous treatises as an animal ovoviviparous, the platypus lays eggs and they do not hatch immediately after laying, although they do so in a relatively short time (a little less than two weeks), during which time the mother incubates these eggs in a nest. As the hatchlings hatch, they drink the milk produced by the mother.
The Asp Viper
The viper asp (Vipera aspis), also known simply as "asp", is, like manysnakes , an example of an ovoviviparous animal.
This reptile is distributed throughout a large part of Mediterranean Europe, including certain areas of Spain, and, although it is not aggressive towards humans nor very easy to find, it is highly poisonous.
Hearing her name inevitably brings to mind the story of Cleopatra, who is said to have committed suicide by beingbitten by an asp snake that had been brought to him hidden in a basket of figs.
Anyway, Cleopatra died in Egypt, where this reptile is not easy to find, so she probably meant an Egyptian cobra, also known as Cleopatra's asp, whose scientific name is Naja heje.
In any case, most historians assume that death was due to the bite of an snake, whatever the species, alleging that it is more likely that Cleopatra committed suicide using some type of poison, although the story of the snake has more charm.
The lution
The lution (Anguis fragilis) is clearly a truly amazing animal.
In addition to being ovoviviparous, which is why we are interested in him in this article, he is a legless lizard, with what looks like a snake and, unlike most reptiles, does not constantly seek the sun, but rather prefers wet and dark
Unlike what happens with the platypus and the asp, the lution is not poisonous, despite a relatively common belief widespread in certain rural areas that affirms it. In fact, it's totally harmless, and worms are an important part of their diet.
There are also those who say that lution is blind, but this is not true either.
The White shark
There are many sharks ovoviviparous, such as the great shark (Carcharodon carcharias), famous and feared throughout the world as a result of the movie "Jaws" directed by Steven Spilberg.
By the way, the original title of the film, which is what the film is known by in English-speaking countries, is "Jaws", which means "jaws" in Spanish.
Despite being a predator capable of easily devouring a person, the great white shark prefers to feed on other animals, such as seals, and human deaths caused by this fish are lower than those caused by other animals that seem more harmless to the naked eye, such as hippos.
