Which mammal has the longest gestation period? No cheating and googling for the right answer! I'll post the answers in 48 hours. Hint: The correct answer is not an adoptive parent, although it feels like it when you're +12 months "paper pregnant."
Answer posted 10/18. You're a bunch of smart mommas!
Gestation is the period of time between fertilization and birth of mammals—in other words, the time spent in the mother's uterus. The shortest known gestation period is 12 to 13 days. This record is shared by three marsupials (mammals in which the young are born prematurely and finish developing in a pouch located near the mother's abdomen): the American or Virginian opossum (Didelphis marsupialis); the rare water opossum, or yapok (Chironectes minimus), of central and northern South America; and the eastern native cat (Dasyurus viverrinus) of Australia. The longest gestation period for a mammal is that of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) with an average of 660 days, and a maximum of 760 days.
-
Elephant?? yeah, I was going to guess APs....LOL
ReplyDeleteI would guess something large like a whale or elephant.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog last week (I think it was last week). I've added yall to my reader so I can keep up with your Taiwanese adoption!! how neat! :)
Oh dang, I remember Loren telling me she learned at school about some animal with a ridiculously long pregnancy. Grrrr, I wish I could remember!! Is it an elephant??
ReplyDeleteMy guess is elephant...22 months. I didn't cheat.
ReplyDeleteI believe it's an elephant and something like either 12 or 18 months.
ReplyDeleteIs it an elephant?
ReplyDeleteThe elephant or the blue whale not sure which. HUM?
ReplyDelete