Science reveals whether the chicken or the egg came first. know more

A recent discovery is about to provide a revealing answer to the long-running debate over which came first: the chicken or the egg.

According to a leading study, the ancient ancestors of reptiles, birds, and mammals may have taken a surprising approach to reproduction, giving birth to young instead of laying eggs.

The discovery is the result of an analysis of 51 fossil and 29 living species. For the researchers, they were an egg-laying species, scientifically known as oviparous, a species that gives birth to live, viviparous young. The research can be found in the journal nature and its evolution.

According to the study, the discovery of eggs in a putative population of viviparous species is justified under the primitive reproductive mode called Extended Embryo Retention (EER).

They suggested that EER was the primary method of reproduction, in which mothers keep embryos for a while, perhaps while searching for more favorable conditions for survival.

But who came first?

This new perspective challenges previous understandings of reproductive evolution in the ancestors of reptiles, birds and mammals, providing interesting insights into the ancestral reproductive patterns of this lineage.

For science, primitive tetrapods that evolved fins, similar to those of fish, could be considered amphibians because of their habits.

The researchers suggested, among other things, that these creatures must live near rivers in order to be able to guarantee food and thus also be able to reproduce.

According to Professor Michael Benton of Bristol School of Geosciencesthe appearance of amniotes about 320 million years ago gave these ancestors the ability to separate from water, all because of the evolution of non-permeable skin and other mechanisms to manage survival out of water.

However, the decisive element was appearance an egg Amniotic, which served as a sheltered environment, allowing growing reptiles to avoid desiccation in hot climates. The new modification gave the Sloughi the opportunity to leave the water and conquer life on land.

This perspective challenges the traditional view, as recent studies have revealed flexible reproductive strategies in many lizards and snakes.

The species exhibits the ability to alternate between oviposition, laying eggs, viviparity, and giving birth to live young.

Fossil finds have provided additional evidence revealing that many of these ancient species were capable of parthenogenetic reproduction—the birth of live offspring—suggesting a gradual transition between the two methods of reproduction.

Therefore, for science, these points of view are still a mystery, but we are definitely getting closer to the final answer.

For now, as the study indicates, the Maybe the chicken came firstwith the first fossils indicating viviparous rather than oviparous reproduction.