Crocodile makes herself pregnant
In Costa Rica, a crocodile has become pregnant on her own, marking the first known case of a “virgin birth” in the reptile species. This is because research has shown that female crocodiles may lay eggs without mating.
Scientists have discovered the first case of a crocodile laying eggs without a male mate, a rare reproductive method that goes back to the era of dinosaurs.
The Study finds
In the past two decades, zoologists have progressively reported facultative parthenogenesis (FP), an extremely uncommon animal reproductive strategy in which females lay eggs or give birth to their young ones without mating.
According to the study, the crocodile was kept in captivity at a zoo and never interacted with males. In reality, the crocodile went around 16 years without making touch with a male. However, one of her eggs contained a completely developed foetus. Genetically, the mother and the foetus were nearly similar (99.9%).
As the study titled “Discovery of facultative parthenogenesis in a new world crocodile” was published in the journal Biology Letters, female crocodiles employed an unusual reproductive strategy that may have evolved during the time of the dinosaurs.
The research team led by evolutionary biologist Warren Booth from Virginia Tech observes that the finding “offers tantalizing insights into the possible reproductive capabilities of the extinct archosaurian relatives of crocodilians and birds, particularly members of Pterosauria and Dinosauria.”
Till now, it has been demonstrated that a wide variety of organisms, including birds, non-avian reptiles like lizards and snakes, as well as some fish, including sharks, reproduce in this unique manner.
Scientists have been particularly interested in looking for such a unique reproductive technique in crocodilian species because these creatures lack sex chromosomes, and their sexual differentiation is determined by the temperature at which eggs develop and hatch.
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