This Animal Lays Eggs AND Has Live Young

Mammals gestate their babies until they are ready, and then give birth. Birds lay eggs. Fish and reptiles can do either, depending on the species. But one animal has been found that can do both! An Australian three-toed skink laid eggs and then pretty quickly produced another offspring by live birth! But when you take a close look at a lot of species, you'll find that egg-laying and live births exist on a spectrum instead of a binary divide. Some creatures keep the babies inside until birth, but use a yolk to feed them. Some even have a shell and keep them inside until they're ready. Others use a combination of a yolk and a system that may remind you of a placenta for some materials exchange. Nature has developed a lot of different ways to produce offspring, and SciShow is here to give us a glimpse of that variety. This video has a one-minute skippable ad at 2:40. (via Damn Interesting)