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Something’s fishy! That’s a bad egg! Etc, etc, etc.
by Mary - September 22, 2006 - 9:47 AM

_42113672_eggminnow203.jpgNow, I like eating fish eggs as much as the next person, but this I don’t find so appetizing:

Biologists at the University of Manchester want help in cracking their “miracle” discovery of three fish inside a sealed egg. The group found the duck egg in a small pond on a field trip to the French Alps and noticed something moving inside it. When they cracked open the shell, three live minnows were inside. They have enlisted the help of other experts, but despite their extensive combined knowledge, the biologists admit they are “baffled.”

The story also contains what may be my favorite quote of all time: “As 21st century scientists rather than 17th century antiquarians we think it’s unlikely this represents a hitherto unknown mode of fish reproduction.” Anyone have any ideas as to how this happened (that don’t involve a higher power or the coming apocalypse?)
via Arbroath

Comments (1)
  1. It appears there will be no answer for your question unless the duck that laid the egg can be located and examined. My opinion with such limited information is that there is an anomoly and exchange taking place between the digestive and reproductive systems in the duck. It’s possible the minnows survived by being swallowed whole and passing into the reproductive system of the duck via some sort of “portal” and subsequently being encapsulated by the shell. The minnows may have survived on the embryonic fluid and nutrients of the chick that was supposed to be in the shell initially.

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