Yeah, I’d never heard of it either, but a cow-orker was talking to me tonight about the Komodo dragons which just reproduced asexually, and that sounded like something I needed to read up on. I knew about gender-changing frogs, but hadn’t heard about asexually reproducing reptiles. Turns out it is known among smaller reptiles and mice, but that the Komodo dragon was capable of Parthenogenesis was unknown before this event.
The world’s largest lizard has astonished biologists by being able to produce offspring by an “immaculate” conception without the help of a male.
Two captive female Komodo dragons have had virgin births by a process called parthenogenesis, when an unfertilised egg develops into a normal embryo without being fertilised by a sperm.
I hope this phenomenon doesn’t catch on. I know quite a few females who want children without a male being involved. I hate to think of all the men who will be joining me in my life unchosen chastity when female humans figure out how to do this on their own. Sounds a bit like a Star Trek episode, doesn’t it?
[tags]Asexual reproduction in the reptile world, Men to become obsolete?[/tags]