Question

Name the largest cell in the living world.

Answer 1

Hint: The largest cell in the living world belongs to a set of two-legged animals who are considered to be one of the fastest runners in the animal kingdom. They also have the largest eyes among any terrestrials.

Complete answer:
The largest cell in the living world is an ostrich egg. It weighs 1.5 kg. It is also the largest egg of any terrestrial egg-laying animal. Ostrich belongs to ‘Ratites’ which is a group of flightless birds whose breastbone is flat and therefore unable to attach flight muscles. Struthio or Ostrich is the largest living flightless bird.

Additional Information:
-As ostriches usually live in a herd, thus all the females lay their eggs in the same nest or rather a pit. The pit is large enough to hold 40 to 60 eggs at a time.
- That is why it is known as ‘communal nest’. The incubation period for their eggs is 35-40 days.
-The eggs are incubated by both male and female ostriches and the parenting of the young ones is also their joint work. The males incubate the eggs during the night while females during the day.
-They cooperate in rearing chicks wherein the male protects them from predators and teaches them to feed. The young ones attain maturity at around 3-4 years.
-Their fast running ability is due to the two unequal toes. The feathers on their body, though, are rudimentary for flying, they help them in running and balancing while they change directions or decrease their speed and stop.
-Males have big black and white feathers. During mating or courtship season, the males display their plumage to attract the females. Female ostriches are usually brown in color.

Note:
Some common features of Ratites are:
-In birds, the keel is the site of attachment of a bird’s wing muscle. It is an extension of the bird’s sternum or breastbone which is prominent in flying birds but reduced or absent in flightless birds.
-The bones of flying birds are pneumatic and filled with air instead of bone marrow. Also, some are fused together for flight purposes. On the other hand, the bones of most flightless birds are heavy and thick to support running.

Figure: Ostrich egg