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26: Animal Reproduction and Development

  • Page ID
    50460
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    • 26.1: How Animals Reproduce
      Reproduction may be asexual when one individual produces genetically identical offspring, or sexual when the genetic material from two individuals is combined to produce genetically diverse offspring. Asexual reproduction in animals occurs through fission, budding, fragmentation, and parthenogenesis. Sexual reproduction may involve fertilization inside the body or in the external environment.
    • 26.2: Development and Organogenesis
      The early stages of embryonic development begin with fertilization. The process of fertilization is tightly controlled to ensure that only one sperm fuses with one egg. After fertilization, the zygote undergoes cleavage to form the blastula. The blastula, which in some species is a hollow ball of cells, undergoes a process called gastrulation, during which the three germ layers form: the ectoderm, the mesoderm, and the endoderm.
    • 26.3: Human Reproduction
      The reproductive structures that evolved in land animals allow males and females to mate, fertilize internally, and support the growth and development of offspring. Gametogenesis, the production of sperm (spermatogenesis) and eggs (oogenesis), takes place through the process of meiosis. The male and female reproductive cycles are controlled by hormones released from the hypothalamus and anterior pituitary and hormones from reproductive tissues and organs.
    • 26.E: Animal Reproduction and Development (Exercises)

    Thumbnail: Blue-tailed damselfies (Ischnura elegans) mating. CC-SA-BY 4.0; Charlesjsharp).


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

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