Researchers stunned as virgin crocodile makes herself pregnant

May 2024 · 2 minute read

Virgin Crocodile Surprises Researchers with Self-Induced Pregnancy

Researchers have made a groundbreaking discovery – a crocodile that was able to impregnate herself and give birth to a genetically identical fetus.

The findings, published on Wednesday, June 7, were led by evolutionary biologist Warren Booth from Virginia Tech in Biology Letters.

The crocodile managed to produce a fetus that was 99.9% genetically identical to herself, marking the first documented instance of this rare mode of reproduction in a crocodile species.

Over the last two decades, there has been an increasing number of documented cases of facultative parthenogenesis (FP) in various vertebrates, such as birds, lizards, snakes, and some fishes.

A recent study in Biology Letters provided the first evidence of FP in the American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus.

The research is based on the observation of a female crocodile held in captivity for 16 years, which laid a clutch of 14 eggs, one of which contained a fully formed, but stillborn, fetus.

This rare reproductive strategy in crocodilian species has intrigued scientists, especially since these organisms lack sex chromosomes, and their sex determination is controlled by the temperature at which eggs develop and hatch.

Researchers believe this trait might have been inherited from an evolutionary ancestor, suggesting that dinosaurs might have also been capable of self-reproduction.

The crocodile was obtained at the age of two and was kept apart from other crocodiles for her entire life in Parque Reptilania.

Warren Booth and colleagues analyzed the fetus and confirmed that it was over 99.9% genetically identical to its mother, indicating no male intervention in its birth.

“Building on previous studies, the data advances our understanding of the distribution of FP in vertebrates, particularly in species whose sex is genetically determined,” the authors added.


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