Oviparity

Oviparity is a reproductive strategy in which animals lay eggs that develop outside the parent’s body. Embryos receive nourishment from yolk or other materials within the egg.

Amniotic egg: An egg with extraembryonic membranes that support an embryo on land. Its membranes protect and nourish embryos in many land-laying vertebrates.
Viviparity: A reproductive strategy in which embryos develop inside a parent and offspring are born alive. It contrasts with eggs developing outside the parent after being laid.
Bird reproduction: The reproductive process of birds, including internal fertilization and eggs laid with hard shells. Birds are a familiar group whose embryos develop in externally laid eggs.
Parental investment: The time and resources parents expend to increase offspring survival. Egg-laying species vary from abandoning eggs to guarding them intensively.
Yolk: Nutrient-rich material stored in an egg for embryonic development. It supplies much of the energy and matter an oviparous embryo needs.
Ovoviviparity: A reproductive mode in which eggs are retained inside a parent until they hatch. It shares yolk-based nourishment with oviparity but keeps eggs within the parent.
Reptile reproduction: The reproductive processes of reptiles, including egg-laying and live-bearing forms. Many reptiles lay eggs, while some relatives illustrate transitions toward internal development.
Clutch size: The number of eggs or offspring produced in one reproductive event. The risks of external development shape how many eggs an animal produces.
External fertilization: Fertilization in which sperm and egg unite outside the body of either parent. Many aquatic oviparous animals release eggs before or alongside external fertilization.
Placental viviparity: Live-bearing reproduction in which a placenta transfers materials between parent and embryo. It contrasts with the yolk-centered nourishment typical of oviparous embryos.

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