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 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.The American crocodile was taken into captivity in 2002 when she was two years old and placed in an enclosure in Costa Rica.In January 2018, zookeepers discovered a clutch of 14 eggs in the enclosure.Genetic analysis of the tissues from the foetus’s heart and from the mother’s shed skin revealed a 99.
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.
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