Researchers have identified the first known case of a crocodile making herself pregnant — and producing a fetus that was genetically identical to herself.
The findings were published WednesdayIn 2018, officials with the Parque Reptilandia in Costa Rica found 14 eggs in a female's enclosure. The crocodile had been in isolation since the age of 2, yet she still managed to lay a clutch of eggs at 18.
"Given the period of isolation from mates, these would normally be considered non-viable and discarded," the researchers wrote. But the officials gathered seven eggs that appeared viable and kept them in an incubator."Viable eggs are often bright white, whereas infertile may be more yellowish," he said."When held up to a flashlight, viable crocodile eggs will have a distinct band, whereas non-viable will simply glow yellow.
A crocodile swims in the Tarcoles River, the most polluted river in Central America, southwest of San Jose, Costa Rica, on November 21, 2022.Costa Rica officials reached out to experts in the U.S. for consultation — ones that specialized in parthenogenesis.
Once considered rare, so-called virgin births have been documented among various species — including sawfish, snakes, sharks, and birds. The process, which is more common in the plant and insect worlds, allows a female organism to replicate itself without fertilization from a male. can have virgin births. Researchers with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said genetic testing confirmed that two male chicks that hatched in 2001 and 2009 from unfertilized eggs were related to their mothers.
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