Parental investment in eggs and, consequently, in offspring can profoundly influence the phenotype, survival and ultimately evolutionary fitness of an organism. Avian eggs are excellent model systems to examine maternal allocation of energy translated through egg size variation. We used the natural range in emu Dromaius novaehollandiae egg size, from 400 g to >700 g, to examine the influence of...

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The genus Apristurus has been divided formerly into three species subgroups based on morphological and molecular phylogenies. Previous studies have agreed on the separation into distinct species groups, the largest two of which have been described as the brunneus and spongiceps groups. An examination of the egg cases produced by these oviparous catsharks corroborates the distinction in species ...

The morphology of Anastrepha sororcula Zucchi and A. serpentina (Wiedemann) eggs are described by scanning electron microscopy. A. sororcula eggs present a conspicuous sculpturing of the chorion at the micropylar end while the eggs of A. serpentina are devoid of such ornamentation. The sculpturing of the A. sororcula eggs, represented by ridges in a polygonal arrangement, is more developed in t...

For the first time, hen egg white coagulum was utilized as a surface modification agent for biomimetic multilevel structured nanomaterials (BMSN). By using a straightforward thermal control process, hen egg white can be coagulated in a precisely tailored manner, which is specifically adapted to the morphology of BMSN. Consequently, the structural stability, hydrophobicity and biocompatibility o...

of development up to ready-to-hatch juveniles 2.5 mm in length. Based on their morphology and development in egg masses maintained in the laboratory, the embryonic period for B. hodgsoni is estimated to be up to 10 years, and for D. kerguelenensis 13 months. Thus, B. hodgsoni has the largest egg capsules and probably the largest hatchlings of any mollusc. Chemical analyses of D. kerguelenensis ...

Edge-selectively grafted graphite (EGG) with poly(ether-ketone) was prepared by the Friedel-Crafts acylation in a mild polyphosphoric acid (PPA)-phosphorous pentoxide (P(2)O(5)) mixture. The homogeneous reaction dope was coagulated in air moisture at different temperatures. The morphology of expanded EGG was changed from balls, balls/rods and rods with respect to coagulation temperatures of 80,...