She has been “single” for 16 years but has laid 14 eggs. The news of the first female crocodile in the world capable of self-fertilisation arrives from Costa Rica. A parthenogenesis phenomenon never reported for this animal, protagonist of a study published in the scientific journal Biology Letters.
In January 2018, a female crocodile from Parque Reptilandia in Costa Rica had laid 14 eggs, despite having lived in isolation for 16 years without having contact with other similar ones. Zoo officials selected seven eggs and placed them in an incubator. After three months the eggs had not yet hatched and it was therefore decided to analyze them, discovering that inside one there was the fetus of a fully formed crocodile. Genomic analyzes showed that the generic kit was 99.9% the same as that of the mother. Confirmation that the fetus did not have a biological father.
The phenomenon is quite common in various species of animals. Reproduction without fertilization has already been documented in more than 80 vertebrate species, including snakes, sharks and lizards, but importantly, this process has never been observed in crocodiles to date. The American research team led by evolutionary biologist Warren Booth of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg says that “the research offers tantalizing insights into the possible reproductive capabilities of the extinct archosaur relatives of crocodilians and birds, particularly members of Pterosauria and Dinosauria”.
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