egg tooth
Shell-breaking baby tool
An egg tooth is a small, hard projection on the beak or snout of a hatching bird or reptile, used to break through the eggshell from inside.
It falls off or is resorbed shortly after hatching.
The term occasionally appears figuratively for any temporary tool that serves its purpose and disappears.
Fruit seed or dot
- pippingNarrowly beating someone
- shellHard outer covering
- crackNarrow break or attempt
- incubationDevelopment before emergence
hatchling · chick · nestling · clutch · brood · albumen · yolk · membrane
Young bird, especially poultry
- nestlingUnfledged young bird
- fledglingInexperienced newcomer
- hatchlingRecently emerged young
- broodHatchlings as a group
clutch · nest · hen · avian · ornithology · down · beak · incubation
Recently emerged young
- scalesPlates or weighing devices
- incubationDevelopment before emergence
- clutchMechanism linking engine to gearbox
- oviparousReproducing through external eggs
herpetology · turtle · snake · lizard · crocodilian · gecko · python · tortoise
Losing outer covering
- transientTemporary, soon departing
- ephemeralLasting very briefly
- fleetingPassing very quickly
- short-livedLasting only briefly
impermanent · deciduous · vestigial · resorption · disappearing · fading · brief · momentary
pip
Fruit seed or dot
incubation · hatchling · chick · nestling · clutch · brood · albumen · yolk · membrane · emergence
chick
Young bird, especially poultry
brood · clutch · nest · hen · avian · ornithology · down · beak · incubation · breeding
hatchling
Recently emerged young
- scalesPlates or weighing devices
- incubationDevelopment before emergence
- clutchMechanism linking engine to gearbox
oviparous · herpetology · turtle · snake · lizard · crocodilian · gecko · python · tortoise · terrapin
shedding
Losing outer covering
short-lived · impermanent · deciduous · vestigial · resorption · disappearing · fading · brief · momentary · passing
- bird anatomybeak, feathers, wings, tail feathers, wing feathers
- bird breedingnest, hatch, chick, hatching, hatchling
- reptile anatomyskeleton, bones, lungs, skull, ribs
- snake anatomyfangs, scales, forked tongue, venom glands, hood
- hatchingembryo, incubator, chick, hatchlings, clutch
- reptileslizard, snake, turtle, crocodile, alligator
egg toothpermanent tooth
Lasting dental structure
adult tooth · molar · incisor · canine