A female crocodile in a zoo in Costa Rica has managed to impregnate herself; a first for this species.
Scientists have for the first time established a 'virgin birth' in a crocodile, according to research published in the British Royal Society's journal Biology Letters on Wednesday.
In 2018, the female American crocodile in Parque Reptilandia, who was 18 at the time, managed to produce a clutch of eggs despite having had no contact with males for about 16 years (the length of time that the animal was held in captivity).
There was a fully formed foetus inside one egg that was found to be 99.9% genetically identical to the mother, suggesting that it had developed without the egg having been fertilised by a male. The foetus was a stillborn.
Asexual reproduction, scientifically known as parthenogenesis, is surprisingly widespread in other animal species such as sharks, birds, lizards and snakes, but was not known in crocodiles until now, mainly because it had not previously been looked for in the species.
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Researchers say the findings offer "tantalising insights" into the possible reproductive capabilities of now-extinct relatives of crocodiles, including dinosaurs, as this may be a genetic trait inherited from this common ancestor, which used this technique as an evolutionary way to revive their numbers.
