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13.19: Introduction to Animal Reproduction

  • Page ID
    43996
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    Discuss methods and features of animal reproduction

    Most animals are diploid organisms, meaning that their body (somatic) cells are diploid and haploid reproductive (gamete) cells are produced through meiosis. Some exceptions exist: for example, in bees, wasps, and ants, the male is haploid because it develops from unfertilized eggs. Most animals undergo sexual reproduction. This fact distinguishes animals from fungi, protists, and bacteria, where asexual reproduction is common or exclusive. However, a few groups, such as cnidarians, flatworm, and roundworms, undergo asexual reproduction, although nearly all of those animals also have a sexual phase to their life cycle.

    What You’ll Learn to Do

    • Explain the processes of animal reproduction and embryonic development
    • Compare and contrast the embryonic development of protostomes and deuterostomes
    • Describe the roles that Hox genes play in development

    Learning Activities

    The learning activities for this section include the following:

    • Animal Reproduction and Development
    • Embryological Development
    • Hox Genes
    • Self Check: Animal Reproduction

    Contributors and Attributions

    CC licensed content, Original
    • Introduction to Animal Reproduction. Authored by: Shelli Carter and Lumen Learning. Provided by: Lumen Learning. License: CC BY: Attribution
    CC licensed content, Shared previously

    13.19: Introduction to Animal Reproduction is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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