do mermaids have their young inside their body or they lay eggs??

Question

i know mermaids are not real but if they were..

Answer 1

They birth them presumably.
In ancient Roman and some Medieval art as well mermaids have all a woman's parts. The fish-scales begin at the hips but dip below the groin to form the tail.
But conservative Medieval illustrators eventually removed all the sexual parts from the images, which is the picture of the mermaid we have inherited today -- a sexless creature fishy below the waist.

Answer 2

I can't imagine that a mermaid would lay eggs. If they did they would have to leave the ocean and bury them in the sand like turtles do. In that case we would see tons of little mermaids fighting to get into the ocean. I suppose they could also lay eggs like salmon do and the merman swims around to fertilize the eggs. But, I don't think they would do that.

So, I think they would carry their babies like a dolphin.

Answer 3

Wouldn't a mermaid have to engage into some sort of fertilisation with a male-mermaid if there is such a thing. What would we call the prince of the sea if the princess is the mermaid itself.

Then we would have to say mother-mermaid, virgin-mermaid. male-mermaid and grandfather and grandmother mermaid. So to all those princess mermaids beware of the prince of mermaids

Answer 4

Mermaids are mostly found off the coast of Australia. They share their reproductive method with some other Australian creatures in that they lay eggs but then suckle their young.
These beautful creatures can be very dangerous, luring sailors into dangerous waters with their sweet song.

Answer 5

Mermaids are real entities and not one human being has ever recorded anything about a mermaid giving birth.. It is just one of those things that may forever remain a mystery..............

Answer 6

Since there are fish that give birth to live young (incubate the eggs internally), but no mammals other than the platypus and echidna that lay eggs (they don't remind me of merfolk), I would go with live birth.

Jim, http://www.life-after-harry-potter.com

Answer 7

I think they are probably like sea horses. The females produce the eggs but the males carry them till they are old enough to swim free.
This is why you don't see many mermen, they are busy looking after the young.

Answer 8

Depends on what species they are Hon. In some the mermen bear the young like a sea horse.

Answer 9

Well, since we're dealing with fairy folk, I would imagine that new mer-persons simply come into being without being born or hatched. Or perhaps they come from pearls? In a world governed by fantasy, they can come about however you like, so why be limited by biology?

;-)

Answer 10

I would treat them like mammals and they carry full term inside, like a dolphin