In female bowhead whales, progesterone levels peak at an average of 23.5 months, which is longer than African elephant pregnancies.
Scientists believe that bowhead whales can be pregnant for up to two years. IFLScience writes about it.
Gestation is the period of time between conception and birth when the fetus develops in the uterus of a mammal. For example, in humans, the duration of pregnancy is 38 weeks. At the same time, the duration of pregnancy is about 2 weeks less, because ovulation and conception occur after about 2 weeks of the menstrual cycle. When researchers look at wild mammals, they focus on the gestation period,” the researchers said.
In a new study, scientists observed 10 female bowhead whales from the Canadian western bowhead population. Three of this group were immature, so they had low progesterone levels. The remaining seven women had high progesterone levels for a very long time.
“The results of the study suggest that female bowhead whales have high levels of progesterone for an average of 23.5 months, which is longer than the gestation of African elephants. calves, they will be champions among mammals,” the experts added.
Recall that in rocks of the Ediacaran period in Canada, scientists found an example of the most ancient union between two animals of opposite sexes to date, indicating that sexual reproduction was 540 million years ago.
Source: korrespondent
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