this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2025
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Mildly Interesting

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A emu egg (left) next to a cassowary egg (right). They are some of the largest bird eggs on the planet. (infosec.pub)
submitted 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) by ickplant@lemmy.world to c/mildlyinteresting@lemmy.world
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[–] dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 13 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Here is what I found:

  • The shell must be strong enough to support the egg’s weight and protect the embryo, but thin enough for the chick to break through when hatching.
  • As size increases, the weight grows cubically (volume), but shell strength only increases quadratically (surface area), so there’s a point where the shell would have to be too thick to hatch from.
  • The distance from the shell to the center increases.
  • Oxygen diffusion becomes inefficient, and the embryo could suffocate.
  • Larger eggs are harder to keep at a uniform temperature.
  • Birds incubating the eggs would need to generate and distribute more heat, which is physically demanding.
[–] tamal3@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Any info on why both are GREEN? That's unexpected. Camouflage, maybe?

[–] dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I am not an eggspert but after a quick search it seems many bird eggs are green in colour due to a pigment called biliverdin.

Interestingly verde is green in Spanish.

[–] whoisearth@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Last 3 points millions of years ago the planet was much warmer with a lot more oxygen so for dinosaurs they would be moot.

[–] dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Even with it being much warmer I believe it would still be difficult to keep at a uniform temperature.

[–] whoisearth@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Maybe it wasn't as difficult as we think?

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Maybe nothing is 🤯