[[quoteright:196: [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Whale_Egg_Rhino_WhaleEgg_The_Simpsons_2_6063.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:196: Look, a rhino has just hatched out!]]

-> "Look, daddy, a [[TropeNamer whale egg]]!"
--> -- '''Ralph Wiggum''', ''TheSimpsons''

In the natural world, living creatures have a myriad of ways of bringing more young into the world. Some produce thousands of eggs and young that grow quickly but only a few make it to adulthood. Others invest huge amounts of time and resources to develop and take care of only a few at a time.

In fiction, it's often simplified into laying eggs, [[YouFailBiologyForever even if the biology of the creature in question should indicate otherwise]]. This is very useful in bypassing the complications of an InterspeciesRomance and the {{Squick}} of a live birth, which is also why it's a common implementation of GRatedSex.

Popular {{Mons}} trope, pretty much every Mons series uses it. Especially the ones that originate in {{Video Game}}s, where it also serves to simplify the breeding mechanics -- see HotSkittyOnWailordAction.
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!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'', though Digimon are asexual so the eggs actually spawn ''from the remains of dead Digimon''. Since the Digimon that "spawn" from this act are actually the same individual Digimon that died, it works as a DisneyDeath. Though several cases could result in KilledOffForReal, such as fights taking place in the real world, or if someone manages to invent a device to get rid of that feature. It depends on the season.
* The fifth chapter of ''[[VideoGame/{{Touhou}} Eastern and Little Nature Deity]]'' revolves around a giant mysterious egg. Most characters assume it's from a cat {{youkai}}.
* Happy, the cat in ''Manga/FairyTail'' hatched from an egg. Supposedly, so did his [[DistaffCounterpart Romantic Interest]] Carla. [[IdiotHero Natsu]] thought that Happy was a dragon.
** There were more of them. [[spoiler: They're a magical breed from the other world, Edolas, called Exceed. They're naturally magical creatures there, so they're considered godlike by the naturally magic-tarded Edolas people. Not a lot of Exceed are too happy about sending their children down to Earthland before they're born so they can be programmed ([[AWizardDidIt as ''eggs'']]) to hunt [[strike: and kill]] and capture Dragon Slayers. Happy and Charle both hatched on Earthland around Dragon Slayers, since Dragon Slayers are so important as magic sources to Edolas. The Dragon Slayer story was revealed as just being a cover story eventually. The Exceeds were trying to save their species.]]
* ''TenchiMuyo'' had Ryo-Ohki, a cat/rabbit creature who can turn into a spaceship and a [[LittleBitBeastly humanish]] girl, hatch from an egg. In addition, Ryoko joked that the egg was hers and that Tenchi was the father, but it later turns out that, in a really convoluted way, the egg came from [[MadScientist Washu]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comics ]]

* Skrulls lay eggs. [[ComicBook/FantasticFour Johnny Storm,]] who was briefly married to a Skrull named Lyja (long story), was greatly disconcerted when she... well, laid an egg. It turns out it wasn't his, though. Which was... good news and bad news at the same time, kinda.
* This was [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in an ''ArchieComics'' story, where Jughead had to take care of what he thought was a kangaroo egg in Professor Flutesnoot's laboratory, until Mr. Weatherbee showed up and informed Jughead that kangaroos don't lay eggs. [[spoiler: When the egg did hatch in the end, it turned out to actually be an ostrich egg.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* In the ''Film/SuperMarioBros'' movie, Daisy hatches from an egg. Turns out that, [[HumanAliens despite appearances]], she's the child of a [[HumanoidAnimals dinosaur-person]] and the dinosaur-people are still oviparous. (And, of course, that just brings Daisy's [[InterspeciesRomance relationship with Luigi]] into question.)

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Folklore ]]

* The Easter Bunny, according to some. They're not all chocolate, you know.
** Mythologically, the bunny [[BalefulPolymorph originated as a egg-laying animal]]; being able to lay eggs once a year was a form of consolation (the day was only later {{retcon}}ned to Easter). Of course, in the original myths the bunny wasn't [[ShesAManInJapan Peter Cottontail]].
* In [[ClassicalMythology Greek mythology]], Leda, the human queen of Sparta, has sex with Zeus in the form of a swan, and later with her human husband Tyndareus. She lays two eggs, one containing Castor (usually the son of Tyndareus) and Polydeuces (son of Zeus), the other containing Helen (usually daughter of Zeus), later of Troy, and Clytemnestra (daughter of Tyndareus). The parentage and pairing of these children is not consistent, but the story always involves two completely normal human children hatching from eggs.
* In KoreanMythology, many founding heroes of ancient kingdoms(three kingdoms) were born from an egg. Here are examples:
** Go-Jumong(King Dongmyeong), founder of Goguryeo Kingdom, was born as a large egg that his mother(Lady Yuwha) laid. His stepfather(King Geumwha) took this as bad omen and tried to get rid of it, but all attempts failed(when it was thrown into wilderness, fierce animals and birds kept it warm; and even the strongest warrior couldn't break its shell open). Finally Jumong was born, and he soon grew up to be a master [[Archer]] and charismatic hero(which is not surprising, given that his father is the [[DivineParentage ''Sun god Haemosu'']]).
** Theres also Pakhyeokkeose, Seoktalhae and Kimalji, three founders of Silla Kingdom. Plus there's King Kim Suro, founder of Gaya(a minor kingdom that was later absorbed into Silla).

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

* The humanoid Red Martians in Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs ''JohnCarterOfMars'' novels lay eggs that are then hatched in incubators. They are somehow cross-fertile with human.
* Happens as a (disturbing) twist at the end of ''{{Goosebumps}}'' book ''Egg Monsters From Mars".
* Subverted in TamoraPierce's short story ''[[TortallUniverse Nawat]]''. The titular character's wife does ''not'' lay eggs, despite her fears.
* At least two of the races (namely, the [[WingedHumanoid chiropteran]] Aeries and the [[RubberForeheadAliens near]]-[[AmbiguouslyHuman human]] [[HumansByAnyOtherName Walkers]]) in Laurie J. Marks's ''ChildrenOfTriad'' trilogy seem to be monotremes.
* The ending of DrSeuss' ''Horton Hatches the Egg''.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action Television ]]

* The atom bomb that appears in the lads' house on ''TheYoungOnes'' turned out to be an ''airplane'' egg, which hatched a tiny balsa-and-rubber-band toy plane at the end of the episode.
* When kobold ''Radio/{{Pumuckl}}'' and his "owner" (for the lack of a better word) were in the zoo, Pumuckl found an ostrich's egg and thought it was an elephant's egg.
* MisterSeahorse himself, [[MorkAndMindy Mork from Ork]]. It's a ''huge'' egg.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Bomberman}}'': Blowing up a soft block in later games will sometimes yield a giant egg. Touch this egg, and an [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter adorable]] ''[[KangaroosRepresentAustralia kangaroo]]'' hatches. ([[AvertedTrope Averted]] in ''Saturn Bomberman'', because they're [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs dinosaur]] eggs instead.)
* ''BillyHatcherAndTheGiantEgg'' has them all over the place, generally used as [[ImprobableWeaponUser weapons]] and movement aids. Things that can hatch from these eggs include tigers, butterflies, winged fire-breathing hippos, and SonicTheHedgehog himself, among who knows what else. It's even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] when an NPC chick wonders who or what laid all of these eggs to begin with.
* ''{{Spore}}'': Every creature hatches from an egg, be it lizard-bug, or snake-monkey, or what have you.
* ''FinalFantasyTactics'': Every monster that joins you reproduces asexually by laying eggs. Makes sense for the Chocobos, gets strange for the cats, skeletons, trees, and pigs.
* ''{{Creatures}}'': The Norns and Ettins look mammalian (and one popular [[GameMod third-party breed]] for the second game was able to nurse their young,) but all three creature types lay eggs (of course, they were all genetically engineered by an entire ''species'' of extremely absent-minded scientists, so they don't necessarily have to make that much natural sense)
** There are mammals that lay eggs, just not very many of them.
** The scientists were also so squeamish (canonically!) as to have to invent [[GRatedSex kisspopping]], so whatever process results in the eggs, they likely found it more emotionally palatable than seeing a miniature version of the Norns (et.al.) being shoved out of an orifice of another.
* In earlier ''DragonQuestMonsters'' games, your monsters laid eggs, regardless of what they were.
* See: Every single ''{{Pokemon}}'' ever. Including the [[HotSkittyOnWailordAction whales.]] And the plants. And the ''rocks''. And the ''ghosts''. And the ''eggs''.
** [[CosmicEgg And the god too. Apparently, the first thing to ever exist was the egg of Arceus! And the age-old question is put to rest.]]
** Though, strangely enough, there is one exception. A diary entry in the Cinnabar laboratory states that "Mew gave birth." Mew is also among a [[OlympusMons subset]] of Pokémon that are functionally genderless and never lay eggs. On the other hand, the birth may or may not have happened, as every piece of information on Mewtwo's origins are [[DependingOnTheWriter contradicted somewhere else]]. It could have been just a metaphor, since it is said that Mew's genes were used in the creation of Mewtwo.
* The Facebook game ''Fish World'' lets you gain new creatures for your virtual aquarium by buying "Fish Eggs". The, err, "Fish" include everything from crabs to turtles to squid to, yes, Whale Eggs.
** Collecting chicken-style eggs that will hatch out into all sorts of creatures -- birds, mammals, frogs, fish, bugs, ''trees'', ''VAMPIRES'' -- is the whole point of the Facebook game Hatchlings.
* The plot of ''[[TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening]]'' is to break the ostentatious egg of the Wind Fish, which is essentially a gigantic, telepathic whale with disproportionate wings! (Also to fight evil Kirby clones, but that's irrelevant at the moment.)
* Ever wonder how [[SuperMarioBros Bowser]] got his kids in the first place? Now we know why, considering if [[OverlordJr Bowser Jr's]] theory of how he was born was true...
** ''SuperMarioGalaxy'' has Dino Piranha, a plant-dinosaur hybrid that is born from an egg, and ''SuperMarioGalaxy2'' has Peewee Piranha, another plant-dinosaur hybrid born from an egg.
* In ''{{Minecraft}}'', in creative mode, any and all of the mobs can be spawned with eggs, even pigmen and ghasts.
* Played with in the ''VideoGame/AdventureIsland'' series, where you can get items from eggs, as well as dinosaurs (predictably). Who, or what, lays item eggs?
** Oviparous mammals, oviparous robots, and oviparous slime creatures in ''Pokémon'' figure into ''Website/{{Cracked}}'''s #27 [[http://www.cracked.com/photoplasty_388_27-science-lessons-as-taught-by-famous-video-games/ Science Lesson As Taught by Famous Video Games]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Animation ]]

* [[WebAnimation/HomestarRunner "A lifetime supply of fish sticks! And a The Cheat!"]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''TheSimpsons'' does this when the family win a trip to Africa; a baby Rhinoceros is seen breaking out of its egg. Lisa points out that rhinos ''don't'' do that. Homer points out that they obviously ''do,'' [[CaptainObvious since they just saw it happen]].
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' hatch from eggs roughly the size and shape of watermelons. [[WordOfGod According to Greg]], the egg shells are malable and leathery at first, but soon harden.
* In ''FamilyGuy'', Peter mentions that he thought dogs came from eggs.
* In ''JusticeLeagueUnlimited'', when referencing Shayera's pregnancy with his son, Static tells Green Lantern, "That was one big egg..." Luckily, he was just kidding.
* ''RockosModernLife'' gives an InterspeciesRomance example, when Dr. Hutchinson, a cat married to a turtle, lays an egg. Even weirder, ''four'' kids come out of it, and since Heffer was the primary "[[IncrediblyLamePun egg-sitter]]," [[LamarckWasRight one of them is a cow]] ''already wearing glasses''.
* Played with on ''AmericanDragonJakeLong''. Jake spends an entire episode protecting a griffin egg, finally returning it to its mother. It then hatches...and the mother ''eats the baby.'' While Jake is horrified, Fu Dog calmly explains that since griffins are half-bird and half-lion, the mother just needs to carry the baby the mammalian way for a bit.
** Oddly, we have to presume the dragons actually ''don't'' come from eggs, since Jake's dad still doesn't know what's going on. Then again, these dragons are [[OurDragonsAreDifferent human most of the time anyway]].
* Inverted in ''[[{{Franklin}} Franklin and the Green Knight]]'' where they actually show [[YouFailBiologyForever Mrs. Turtle being pregnant rather than showing Harriet (Franklin's baby sister) hatching out of an egg.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' "Luna Eclipsed", [[CrazyAwesome Pinkie Pie]] is dressed up as a chicken for Nightmare Night. At one point she get so spooked she lays an egg. A dragon egg. Somehow.
* {{Inverted}} on ''{{Futurama}}''--[[ExtremeDoormat Kif]] is an alien who is basically humanoid, but has BizarreAlienBiology that points to him being some sort of amphibian. When he [[MisterSeahorse gets pregnant]], however, he winds up giving birth to a collection of tadpoles. It's an [[InterspeciesRomance interspecies]] example, too, as the biological mother is [[spoiler:Leela]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* There are a few mammals that lay eggs, even though you wouldn't expect them to, such as the Duck-Billed Platypus and the Echidna.
* Some animals you'd expect to lay eggs instead give birth to live young, such as certain species of sharks and snakes.
* Tsetse flies. They even raise their larva on a bug analogue of milk while they are developing.
* Beluga caviar sounds like this, but sadly, it's actually eggs from a fish called the Beluga Sturgeon.
* Technically every species that doesn't reproduce asexually do come from fertilized eggs. It's just in the case of most mammals that the infant is incubated in the mother's womb instead of in a shell. (Yes, plants come from eggs too! We just call them seeds.)
* Here's some weirdness for ya. A good portion of mammalian DNA is non-sequencing, or "junk" DNA. That doesn't mean it doesn't do anything, though. For example, some of that is very important in allowing a fertilized egg to attach itself to the uterus. Some of that comes from [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endogenous_retrovirus Endogenous Retroviruses]] which basically means that an ancestor was infected with a virus that incorporated itself into their genetic code and passed it on to all future generations. Putting all that together has lead scientists to theorize that it was a viral infection that allowed modern fetuses to bypass the mother's immune system and necessitate live births as opposed to eggs, splitting reptiles and mammals.

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