bbc.co.uk navigation

Common dolphin with a newborn calf that is still showing foetal folds

Viviparous

Viviparous animals bear live young that have developed inside the mother's body. Most familiar to us in mammals, there are a few unexpected ocurrences in animal groups usually associated with egg-laying such as reptiles, amphibians, fish and scorpions. The term can also be applied to some plants, such as certain kinds of succulents and waterlilies, where the seeds germinate while still attached to the parent.

Watch video clips from past programmes (6 clips)

In order to see this content you need to have an up-to-date version of Flash installed and Javascript turned on.

View all 6 video clips

Animals with this behaviour

Mammals

Reptiles

Cartilaginous fish

Lobe-finned fishes

Arachnids

About

Vivipary has two different meanings. In animals, it means development of the embryo inside the body of the mother, eventually leading to live birth, as opposed to laying eggs. In plants, it means reproduction via embryos, such as buds, that develop from the outset without interruption, as opposed to germinating externally from a seed.

Read more at Wikipedia

This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you find the content in the 'About' section factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. For more information on our use of Wikipedia please read our FAQ.

Behaviours

Other Reproductive strategy behaviours

BBC News about Viviparous

Video collections

Take a trip through the natural world with our themed collections of video clips from the natural history archive.

  • Attenborough's frozen planet Attenborough's frozen planet

    Frozen Planet is Sir David Attenborough's latest exploration into the remote and isolated polar environments.

  • Nature's record breakers Nature's record breakers

    Animal kingdom record breakers - how fast can a cheetah run, how heavy is an elephant and what's bigger than a dinosaur? Watch amazing video clips from the BBC archive and uncover the fascinating facts about our smallest primate, the longest stick insect and the most venomous snake.

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.