hatching

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Witness a crocodile hatchling emerge from its egg and call for its mother

Follow a female grasshopper as its eggs are fertilized, buried underground, and hatched

Surviving as a softshell turtle in eastern Russia

hatching

biology

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June 29, 2026

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Witness a crocodile hatchling emerge from its egg and call for its mother — Witness a crocodile hatchling emerge from its egg and call for its mother Crocodile (Crocodylus) hatchlings can produce sounds that are recognized by the mother.

Hatching is the process by which a young animal emerges from an egg. This event marks the transition from embryonic development to a new life stage. The duration of incubation, and thus the time until hatching, can vary significantly depending on the species and environmental factors like temperature.123

For many reptiles, such as turtles, temperature plays a crucial role in both the rate of egg development and sex determination. Upon hatching, young animals often possess a specialized structure, like a caruncle or egg tooth, to help them break through the eggshell. After emerging from the egg, hatchlings may face immediate challenges, including finding food and avoiding predators, as they are often in a vulnerable state. Some animals, like certain birds, hatch as precocial young, capable of moving shortly after birth, while others, known as altricial, are born helpless.324

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animal development
Postembryonic development
…the time of birth or hatching differs in various groups of animals, and even among animals within a particular group. In sea urchins, for example, the embryo emerges soon after fertilization, in the blastula stage. Covered with cilia, the sea-urchin blastula swims in the water and proceeds with gastrulation. Frog…
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…the time of birth or hatching differs in various groups of animals, and even among animals within a particular group. In sea urchins, for example, the embryo emerges soon after fertilization, in the blastula stage. Covered with cilia, the sea-urchin blastula swims in the water and proceeds with gastrulation. Frog…
Read More

insect
Egg
…such as the flea, have hatching spines with which they cut a slit in the shell. Some insect eggs have a preformed “escape cap” that the larva pops from the shell by increasing the pressure inside the egg. Depending on the species, this may be accomplished either by swallowing air…
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…such as the flea, have hatching spines with which they cut a slit in the shell. Some insect eggs have a preformed “escape cap” that the larva pops from the shell by increasing the pressure inside the egg. Depending on the species, this may be accomplished either by swallowing air…
Read More

reproductive behaviour
Parental care
…first adult responses to the hatching of the eggs is to remove the conspicuous eggshells from the area of the nest. It has been shown experimentally that, in gulls at least, this is an important antipredatory measure. When birds hatch, they have the ability to stretch their heads and to…
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…first adult responses to the hatching of the eggs is to remove the conspicuous eggshells from the area of the nest. It has been shown experimentally that, in gulls at least, this is an important antipredatory measure. When birds hatch, they have the ability to stretch their heads and to…
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reptile
Embryonic development and parental care
In egg-laying reptiles the hatchling must break through the eggshell. For this purpose turtles, crocodiles, and tuatara bear a horny pointed caruncle on their snout. The hatchling uses the caruncle to slice open the amniotic membranes and then the eggshell. Squamates have an egg tooth, a special premaxillary tooth…
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In egg-laying reptiles the hatchling must break through the eggshell. For this purpose turtles, crocodiles, and tuatara bear a horny pointed caruncle on their snout. The hatchling uses the caruncle to slice open the amniotic membranes and then the eggshell. Squamates have an egg tooth, a special premaxillary tooth…
Read More

turtle
Egg development and hatching
The rate of development inside the egg is temperature-dependent, with warmer temperatures speeding development and cooler temperatures slowing it. As a result, incubation time is variable. For the majority of turtles, incubation ranges between 45 and 75 days. A few species, including the scorpion…
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The rate of development inside the egg is temperature-dependent, with warmer temperatures speeding development and cooler temperatures slowing it. As a result, incubation time is variable. For the majority of turtles, incubation ranges between 45 and 75 days. A few species, including the scorpion…
Read More

egg tooth
…so escape from it at hatching. Some lizards and snakes develop a true tooth that projects outside the row of other teeth, helps the young to hatch, and then is shed. Turtles, crocodilians, and birds have an analogous horny structure that performs a similar function. The only mammals to hatch…
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…so escape from it at hatching. Some lizards and snakes develop a true tooth that projects outside the row of other teeth, helps the young to hatch, and then is shed. Turtles, crocodilians, and birds have an analogous horny structure that performs a similar function. The only mammals to hatch…
Read More