page_title: Spawn (biology)
section_title: Amphibious animals
hierarchical_section_title: Spawn (biology) / Examples / Amphibious animals
caption_attribution_description: Amplex of Rana temporaria with strikingly contrasting colours in a pond full of spawn(Veluwe, the Netherlands)
context_page_description: Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, to spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquatic mammals and reptiles, reproduce through the process of spawning.
  Spawn consists of the reproductive cells of many aquatic animals, some of which will become fertilized and produce offspring. The process of spawning typically involves females releasing ova into the water, often in large quantities, while males simultaneously or sequentially release spermatozoa to fertilize the eggs.
  Most fish reproduce by spawning, as do most other aquatic animals, including crustaceans such as crabs and shrimps, molluscs such as oysters and squid, echinoderms such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers, amphibians such as frogs and newts, aquatic insects such as mayflies and mosquitoes and corals, which are actually small aquatic animals—not plants. Fungi, such as mushrooms, are also said to "spawn" a white, fibrous matter that forms the matrix from which they grow.
context_section_description: Amphibians are found in and around fresh water lakes and ponds, but not in marine environments. Examples are frogs and toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians (which resemble snakes). They are cold-blooded animals that metamorphose from a juvenile water-breathing form, usually to an adult air-breathing form, though mudpuppies retain juvenile gills in adulthood.
caption: Common frogs sorting out their spawn
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