The eggshell structure in <i>apteryx</i>; form, function, and adaptation

Vieco‐Galvez, David; Castro, Isabel; Morel, P. C. H.; Chua, Wei Hang; Loh, Michael

doi:10.1002/ece3.7266

Cited by 11 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 77 publications

(145 reference statements)

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“…Our main focus was the elongated Mk, or the calcite cones surrounding them, forming a large space between white-side membrane fibers (smf) and Ma, which has not been investigated in most studies analyzing the morphology of avian eggshells. However, according to the SEM analysis of chicken eggshells in earlier studies 4,20 and analyses of eggshells of other species whose eggs weigh greater than chicken eggs [21][22][23][24] , Mk are hidden within Ma without forming such structures or are markedly smaller. In contrast, the eggshell micrographs of zebra finch 22 or American restart 25 , whose eggs weigh significantly lesser than blackbird and song thrush eggs, have shown similar structures 26 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, the eggshell micrographs of zebra finch 22 or American restart 25 , whose eggs weigh significantly lesser than blackbird and song thrush eggs, have shown similar structures 26 . Apart from these two recent studies on www.nature.com/scientificreports/ the eggshell morphology of small-sized eggs, most studies have only examined the shells of eggs with a high or very high weight, and the systematic impact [21][22][23][24] . Therefore, our study analyzed the microstructure of chicken and Chinese quail eggs (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Analysis of ultrastructure and microstructure of blackbird (Turdus merula) and song thrush (Turdus philomelos) eggshell by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray computed microtomography

Damaziak

Marzec

2022

Sci Rep

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The unique structure of the egg allows for efficient reproduction on land. Although the functions of the egg are ensured by the concomitant cooperation of all its structures, the eggshell also plays a significant role. Apart from maintaining an aqueous environment within the egg along with controlled gas exchange, the color and pigmentation pattern of eggshell contributes to identification and protection. As a result of all these functions, the structure, shape, and pigmentation of eggshell greatly vary across the class of birds, and understanding these three variability-determining factors may aid in better interpretation of evolutionary mechanisms. In this study, we analyzed for the first time the structure, mineral composition, and characteristics of the pigmentation of blackbird (Turdus merula) and song thrush (Turdus philomelos) eggshells. The shell of blackbird eggs is much thicker compared to the shell of song thrush eggs which is due to a much thicker crystalline and palisade layers. In both species, strongly elongated mammillary knobs are observed, which create a large space between the mineralized shell and the egg membranes. The blackbird egg shell has a higher water vapor conductivity which is due to the larger diameter of the circle and the surface area of individual pores. The primary compound entering the mineral composition of the shell in both species is CaCO3 however, the thrush egg shells contained more Mg in all layers except the crystalline layer, and S in the crystalline and palisade layers. The two species clearly differ in the size and distribution of pigment spots on the eggshell. We suppose that the differences in shell structure and pigmentation presented in this study may in the future provide a basis for explaining the reasons for the much lower reproductive efficiency of song thrush compared to blackbird.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of ultrastructure and microstructure of blackbird (Turdus merula) and song thrush (Turdus philomelos) eggshell by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray computed microtomography

Damaziak

Marzec

2022

Sci Rep

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“…Adamski (2008) showed that the thickness of the eggshell was the highest at the peak of laying, which corresponds to the results of our research. The thickness of the eggshell may be dependent on the calcium absorption by the laying hen, and the ability to transfer it to the eggshell ( Vieco-Galvez et al, 2021 ). It was suggested also that the calcification process in the shell gland (uterus) in the goose oviduct influences the thickness of the eggshell ( Reshag and Khalaf, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This corresponds to the results of research by other authors ( Mazanowski and Adamski, 2006 ; Adamski, 2008 ; Lewko, 2015 ). The porosity of the eggshell is important for gas exchange and the evaporation of water from the inside of the egg to the outside environment ( Vieco-Galvez et al, 2021 ). In the cited literature, the authors described that in the natural environment, embryos during development in a dry environment must retain more water, and waterfowl must increase water loss.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The age of the geese from the parent flock and the laying period affect the features of the eggs

2022

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“…Similarly, the microstructure of kiwi eggshell (see also Vieco-Galvez et al, 2021) would be autapomorphic considering the rhea-style microstructure of its sister clade elephant bird (Mitchell et al, 2014). Considering that ancestral kiwi might have been a volant clade (Worthy et al, 2013), the disproportionally large size of egg and peculiar microstructure of kiwi might have appeared when the cladogenesis of (flightless and extremely precocial) Apterygidae took place (Worthy et al, 2013).…”

Section: Evolution Of the Palaeognath Eggshells Through Timementioning

confidence: 99%

Microstructural and crystallographic evolution of palaeognath (Aves) eggshells

Choi

Hauber

Legendre

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The avian palaeognath phylogeny has been recently revised significantly due to the advancement of genome-wide comparative analyses and provides the opportunity to trace the evolution of the microstructure and crystallography of modern dinosaur eggshells. Here, eggshells of all major clades of Palaeognathae (including extinct taxa) and selected eggshells of Neognathae and non-avian dinosaurs are analysed with electron backscatter diffraction. Our results show the detailed microstructures and crystallographies of (previously) loosely categorized ostrich-, rhea-, and tinamou-style morphotypes of palaeognath eggshells. All rhea-style eggshell appears homologous, while respective ostrich-style and tinamou-style morphotypes are best interpreted as homoplastic morphologies (independently acquired). Ancestral state reconstruction and parsimony analysis additionally show that rhea-style eggshell represents the ancestral state of palaeognath eggshells both in microstructure and crystallography. The ornithological and palaeontological implications of the current study are not only helpful for the understanding of evolution of modern and extinct dinosaur eggshells, but also aid other disciplines where palaeognath eggshells provide useful archive for comparative contrasts (e.g. palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, geochronology, and zooarchaeology).

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The eggshell structure in apteryx; form, function, and adaptation

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 11 publications

References 77 publications

Analysis of ultrastructure and microstructure of blackbird (Turdus merula) and song thrush (Turdus philomelos) eggshell by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray computed microtomography

Analysis of ultrastructure and microstructure of blackbird (Turdus merula) and song thrush (Turdus philomelos) eggshell by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray computed microtomography

The age of the geese from the parent flock and the laying period affect the features of the eggs

Microstructural and crystallographic evolution of palaeognath (Aves) eggshells

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