
Biologists at the University of Manchester were on a field trip to the French Alps when they found a duck egg in a small pond. Noticing its movement, they cracked it open, to
discover three live minnows inside.
The scientists, despite their combined knowledge of the natural world, are at a loss as to how the fish got inside the visibly uncracked egg.
Dr Matthew Cobb, a lecturer in animal behaviour at the university, said: "As 21st century scientists rather than 17th century antiquarians we think it's unlikely this represents a hitherto unknown mode of fish reproduction."
Dr Cobb and his colleague have written to the magazine New Scientist to see if any reader can come up with the solution.
(Thanks, Iridium and Yashca.)
Comments
Also, I'm just a layman, but the "duck egg" looks an awful lot like a chicken egg. And, since there was reportedly no egg innards, why on earth would you call it a "duck egg"?
I'm actually tempted to think that the eggshell wasn't unbroken, speaking from experiance, one rarely checks carefully for cracks when they pick up a random egg they find lying about.
I'm going to actually assume that there allready a small crack or fissure in the egg that they missed, where minnows could have entered and, finding a tiny hiding spot full of delicious and nutritious egg goo and duck fetus, proceeded to gorge themselves and trap themselves inside their tastey, tastey prison.
It's a bit of a streach, though. :/ That, or somebody's just messing around.
Almost too lucky... ooohhh I am a cynic
Fish cannot live without water containing oxygen though. So the eggshell must have been open to fresh water, if the story is to be believed.
In all, I vote for a hoax.
I don't have an issue with how they could have ended up there in the first place, I just have an issue with how three of them cohabitated that small space long enough to grow that big.
I don't know what type of minnow the fish are ("minnow" is almost a generic term), and I have no idea what type of minnows live in the UK. If we're talking about some sort of shiner, than the fish in the shell would have to be full grown. Depending on species, they can take up to a year to reach that size.
If they are a larger species - some type of carp or something, then the fish shown in the shell are still babies, which is a little more conceivable.
Since the egg was found IN the pond, and not in a nest outside of the pond, the egg obviously met with some sort of fowl play (heh, me funny) that conceivably compromised the integrity of the shell. For water to have entered the shell in the first place, it HAD to have been cracked somewhere.
So you are a little speck of a fry and you find this leaking orb of deliciousness, you and your buddys check it out, discover that not only does it provide a seemingly unlimited food source, but offers safe haven from predators.....why leave? They will eat the membrane too.
I can see how it COULD happen - the crack wouldn't have to be very big for the teeny tiny fry to enter the shell. I just don't see how all three could live in harmony in such a small space without killing each other. While I supose it's possible, if they had found one live fish in the egg, or three dead fish, I'd be less inclined to dismiss it.
Improbable, but it's better than aliens.
I think the NewScientist letter is more telling.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19125692.500-gone-fishing.html
Unlike the BBC report, it states that students found the egg. I'm guessing hoax.
But the puzzling part is..They're biologists at an impressive university, why wouldn't they notice this for a hoax, why risk their jobs, and why the hell ask NewScientist's -readers- for help?
I agree with Outeast, I think they're screwing with NS for some reason.
I particularly like the line
"feel free to submit suggestions as to how this might have happened."
These guys aren't scientists - they are Web Marketers - Good Job guys!
hoax