Extreme Animals: In the womb

Model of a mid stage Lemon Shark embryo. (Photo credit © David Barlow Photography)

Tomorrow, 10th March, many nations celebrates Mother's Day. National Geographic Channel will do it in its own way with a new episode of their wonderful series "In the womb" that give a fascinating look at the fetal development of animals. What's particularly interesting it's that this time they will go inside the wombs of some extreme animals like the emperor penguins and the parasitic wasps as well as the first ever footage inside a wild shark’s womb and images from inside a kangaroo’s pouch!

Obviously Penguins and Sharks are just perfect for this blog so enjoy this wonderful images from National Geographic Channel's "In the womb: Extreme animals" upcoming program.

These images are relized using real-time 4-D ultrasound images, specially created visual effects and fetal imaging techniques. The two-hour National Geographic special follows unusual developmental challenges in utero: the shark embryos’ nutrient supply transforms into a placenta; the penguins find an ingenious way to keep their eggs from freezing in the Antarctic; the kangaroo fetuses actually leave the womb to finish growing in the pouch; and the larvae of parasitic wasps invade the bodies of other creatures.

Further Info on National Geographic Channel


Model of a mid stage Lemon Shark embryo. (Photo credit © David Barlow Photography)


Model of a very early stage Lemon Shark embryo. (Photo credit © David Barlow Photography)


Model of a cannibalistic SandTiger Shark embryo. (Photo credit © David Barlow Photography)


After about five weeks in the womb an early term lemon shark embryo grows with external gill filaments. (Photo credit © Steve Gomez / Pioneer Productions )


An Emperor penguin chick embryo inside its egg after about one week's gestation. (Photo credit © Steve Gomez / Pioneer Productions )


Surviving the toughest environment on earth is the task of the Emperor Penguin’s egg. Protecting an embryo from the intense cold of Antarctica and allowing it to grow into a creature capable of withstanding it for a lifetime is a phenomenal accomplishment. Here, a penguin is in the late stage. (Photo credit © Steve Gomez / Pioneer Productions )


Model of a mid stage Emperor Penguin embryo growing inside its egg. (Photo credit © David Barlow Photography)


Model of a mid stage Emperor Penguin embryo growing inside its egg. (Photo credit © David Barlow Photography)


Model of a mid stage Emperor Penguin embryo growing inside its egg. (Photo credit © David Barlow Photography)


Model of a late stage Emperor Penguin embryo in its egg. (Photo credit © David Barlow Photography)

I've already posted an image of a Dolphin in the womb, you can find it here