ScienceAugust 15, 2026

viviparity

viv-ih-PAIR-ih-tee

Definition

The biological reproductive strategy in which an organism gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs.

Etymology

Derived from the Latin 'vivus' (alive) and 'parere' (to bring forth/bear), combined to describe the act of bringing forth living offspring.

In the news

The article uses the term to describe the reproductive mode of mammals, noting that researchers found evidence of it in a 236-million-year-old fossilized cynodont.

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