Reproduction

Egg Tooth

정의

A small, hard projection on a chick's bill used to break through the eggshell during hatching.

상세 설명

The egg tooth is a calcified point on the tip of the upper mandible (and in some species a smaller one on the lower mandible) that the embryo uses in a process called pipping: first creating a small hole (internal pip into the air cell), then chipping around the circumference of the shell (external pip) over 12-48 hours. The egg tooth is reabsorbed or falls off within a few days of hatching. The hatching process is energetically demanding — a significant fraction of the embryo's remaining reserves is consumed during emergence.

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