Egg

prefLabel
  • egg
definition
  • A large, female sex cell enclosed in a porous, calcareous or leathery shell, produced by birds and reptiles.
inScheme
broader
Abstract from DBPedia
    An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the animal hatches. Most arthropods such as insects, vertebrates (excluding live-bearing mammals), and mollusks lay eggs, although some, such as scorpions, do not. Reptile eggs, bird eggs, and monotreme eggs are laid out of water and are surrounded by a protective shell, either flexible or inflexible. Eggs laid on land or in nests are usually kept within a warm and favorable temperature range while the embryo grows. When the embryo is adequately developed it hatches, i.e., breaks out of the egg's shell. Some embryos have a temporary egg tooth they use to crack, pip, or break the eggshell or covering. The largest recorded egg is from a whale shark and was 30 cm × 14 cm × 9 cm (11.8 in × 5.5 in × 3.5 in) in size. Whale shark eggs typically hatch within the mother. At 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) and up to 17.8 cm × 14 cm (7.0 in × 5.5 in), the ostrich egg is the largest egg of any living bird, though the extinct elephant bird and some non-avian dinosaurs laid larger eggs. The bee hummingbird produces the smallest known bird egg, which weighs half of a gram (around 0.02 oz). Some eggs laid by reptiles and most fish, amphibians, insects, and other invertebrates can be even smaller. Reproductive structures similar to the egg in other kingdoms are termed "spores," or in spermatophytes "seeds," or in gametophytes "egg cells".

    卵（たまご、らん、英: Egg/Spawn）とは、動物の卵細胞が未受精、または受精し胚発生が進行した状態で体外（外環境）へ産み出される雌性の生殖細胞と付属物の総称である。玉子（たまご）とも書かれる場合もある。 外部に放出（産卵）される卵は、その多くが周辺環境と内部を隔てる構造を持ち、恒常性を保つ機能を持つ。他の一般的な体細胞よりサイズが大きいという特徴があり、例えば直径約100µm のウニの卵や、長径約11cmのダチョウの卵黄など様々なサイズの卵が存在し、ダチョウの卵の卵黄周辺は最大にランクされる細胞である。卵割を迅速に進めることを支える栄養素として、卵黄にタンパク質・脂肪・ミネラル・ビタミンが蓄えられているものが多く、他の生物にとって優れた栄養をもたらす食料となる場合が多い。

    (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Egg)

    An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the animal hatches. Most arthropods such as insects, vertebrates (excluding live-bearing mammals), and mollusks lay eggs, although some, such as scorpions, do not. Reptile eggs, bird eggs, and monotreme eggs are laid out of water and are surrounded by a protective shell, either flexible or inflexible. Eggs laid on land or in nests are usually kept within a warm and favorable temperature range while the embryo grows. When the embryo is adequately developed it hatches, i.e., breaks out of the egg's shell. Some embryos have a temporary egg tooth they use to crack, pip, or break the eggshell or covering. The largest recorded egg is from a whale shark and was 30 cm × 14 cm × 9 cm (11.8 in × 5.5 in × 3.5 in) in size. Whale shark eggs typically hatch within the mother. At 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) and up to 17.8 cm × 14 cm (7.0 in × 5.5 in), the ostrich egg is the largest egg of any living bird, though the extinct elephant bird and some non-avian dinosaurs laid larger eggs. The bee hummingbird produces the smallest known bird egg, which weighs half of a gram (around 0.02 oz). Some eggs laid by reptiles and most fish, amphibians, insects, and other invertebrates can be even smaller. Reproductive structures similar to the egg in other kingdoms are termed "spores," or in spermatophytes "seeds," or in gametophytes "egg cells".

    卵は、鳥類、爬虫類、両生類、哺乳類、魚類等、非常に沢山の異なる雌の動物によって生み出されるものであり、人間によって数千年もの間食され続けてきた。鳥類や爬虫類の卵は、硬い卵殻によって構成される。卵白（白色）、そして卵黄（黄色）は、数種類の薄い膜を内包する。上記の卵のうちで、消費用として最も好まれるものは鶏卵である。他には、アヒル、ウズラ、イクラ、キャビアが好まれている。　 卵黄とその他卵の全ては、タンパク質、コリンを豊富に含んでおり、これら栄養素は料理において用いられるものである。食用卵に含まれる栄養素の故に、アメリカ合衆国農務省は、卵を、食品ピラミッド中で「肉」と分類した。食用卵は、その栄養素の価値にも関わらず、コレステロールやサルモネラ菌、アレルギー性物質に係る潜在的な健康上の問題を孕んでいる。 鶏及びその他卵を産み落とす動物は、広く世界中で飼われている。鶏卵の大量生産は、一つの世界的な産業であるといえよう。2009年には、約64億羽の雌鳥の総飼育群の内から、推定6千210万メトリックトンもの鶏卵が世界中で生産された。各地域ごとの多様性に係る需要と期待の問題が、昨今の大量生産に係る議論と同様に存するのである。2012年に、欧州連合は、鶏の施設における大量飼育を禁止した。

    (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Egg)