Representational image
Representational image
A surprising event has taken place in a zoo in Costa Rica, where a crocodile has become pregnant without any male involvement. The developing fetus found inside her is said to be 99.9 per cent genetically identical to the mother, leaving both the public and scientists amazed.
Dr Warren Booth, who examined the fetus, told BBC that this phenomenon, known as parthenogenesis or “virgin birth,” is quite common in various species such as sharks, birds, snakes, and lizards.
He noted that the occurrence of parthenogenesis increased significantly when people started keeping pet snakes. However, crocodile keepers are not typically associated with observing such events.
The particular crocodile involved in this incident is an 18-year-old female American crocodile. The fully formed fetus discovered within her was unfortunately stillborn. Throughout her life, the crocodile had been separated from other crocodiles and was acquired by the zoo at the age of two.
The remarkable incident has been documented in a research paper titled “Discovery of facultative parthenogenesis in a new world crocodile,” published in Biology Reports. The study sheds light on the relatively rare ability of sexually reproducing species to generate offspring without the genetic contribution of males.
While facultative parthenogenesis has been observed in various vertebrate lineages, including both birds and non-avian reptiles, it has never been recorded before in crocodiles, alligators, or gharials.
With inputs from agencies
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