Scientists have recorded the first known case of a “virgin birth” in a female crocodile who had no contact with males for around 16 years.
The reptile was able to produce a fully formed foetus that was 99.9 per cent genetically identical to her.
The researchers said this discovery, reported in the journal Biology Letters, provides “tantalising insights”, suggesting its evolutionary ancestors such as the dinosaurs may also have been capable of self-reproduction.
Also known as facultative parthenogenesis, virgin birth has been documented in species of birds, fish lizards and snakes, but never before in crocodiles.
Who you gonna call? Time for the Midwife Cinematic Universe to shine
Sunscreen: All you need to know to pick the best SPF for your face, scalp and body
‘Nobody was looking at its potential’: The Monaghan man who built Ireland’s biggest solar power company
Dave Hannigan: Why Bill Belichick’s relationship with woman 49 years younger has America rapt
It is the process by which an egg develops into an embryo without fertilisation by sperm.
The American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) was taken into captivity in 2002 when she was two years old and placed in an enclosure in Costa Rica.
She remained there alone for the next 16 years.
In January 2018, zookeepers discovered a clutch of 14 eggs in the enclosure.
These eggs did not hatch but one contained a fully formed foetus.
Genetic analysis of the tissues from the foetus’s heart and from the mother’s shed skin revealed a 99.9 per cent match – confirming that the offspring had no father.
Facultative parthenogenesis is rare but is thought to occur when a species faces challenging or unfavourable conditions, such as environmental stress or lack of mates. – PA
