It seems that scientists have finally begun to uncover the truth in regards to the world's oldest question. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Although arguments have been made for both sides scientists believe they have finally cracked the code on the answer. They shared their answer with a new theory.
New Theory Answers Age Old Question: Which Came First?
Unilad shares a group of scientists new theory regarding which came first, the chicken or the egg. The scientists on the job are a "team at the UK University of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences" and they were ready to put the speculation to rest.
Some people argue that the egg came first. Those people believe that the egg was "laid by dinosaur ancestors" of the chicken. However others argue that the chicken must have appeared first, although they are uncertain how, and it laid the egg.
Pure speculation is not the only thing surrounding this argument of chicken and the egg, there have also been numerous studies. One such study debunked the theory that the chickens of olden days laid eggs. The study was published in Nature Ecology & Evolution and in it "scientists examined 51 fossil species and 29 living species."
Once they studied the fossils and living species they decided to split them into two groups. "Oviparous (laying hard or soft shelled eggs) and viviparous (giving birth to live young)." Shockingly, "the study found the early reptilian ancestors of chickens were viviparous — they gave birth to live animals and didn't lay eggs."
So Which Is It? The Chicken Or The Egg?
While that new research is noteworthy, it did not end the debate entirely. Scientists explain that back then "birthing a live chicken was safer than laying an egg." Furthermore, the scientists argue that the chicken's ancestors had to "live in or near water to feed and breed." Later, "they were able to break away from the water by evolving waterproof skin and other ways to control water loss." Regardless, one thing always remained key..."the amniotic egg."
The same group of scientists also discovered that some animals, like lizards can fluctuate with their reproductive strategies. For example, some "live-bearing lizards can flip back to laying eggs much more easily " than people previously assumed.
All of this new research and data has scientists leaning towards the conclusion that it was indeed the chicken who came first.
