Over the year , some metal money of birds , Pisces , and other animals have been observed to experienceparthenogenesis , or the ability to reproduce without mating . Now , scientists have documented the phenomenon in a newcomer : genus Crocodylus acutus , or the Americancrocodile .
In apaperpublished inBiology Letters , researchers have detail the discovery of a female crocodile in a Costa Rican zoo that ’s been in enslavement for 16 year without a mate . In January 2018 , she repose 14 eggs . This is n’t unusual , as such eggs can be sterile . Of the 14 , seven were found to be fertile and were remanded to an brooder . One of those eggs held a surprise : a stillborn female baby crocodile . DNA testingconfirmedit was a 99.9 percent match to the mother .
Parthenogenesis appears when chromosome - fill opposite bodies that typically vanish or else fuse with the egg , providing the necessary formula for offspring in the absence of spermatozoon . Though rarified , parthenogenesis does occur and may persist when species need to reproduce in the absence of a mate to guarantee its selection .
But that may not be the whole level . When two California condor regurgitate in captivity in 2021 , theyexperiencedparthenogenesis even though they were house with male . Parthenogenesis occurred even though it was n’t strictly necessary .
The discovery in crocodiles is intriguing in and of itself , but it also open up the possibility that dinosaur might have also been capable of the same biologic trick .
The crocodile bring together a modest but eclectic group including snakes , lizards , and shark that have demonstrate the power . And while stillbirths or other abnormality frequently occur , some parthenogens have been observe to accomplish adulthood , including dud and boa constrictors .
[ h / tThe New York Times ]
