SAN JOSE: A female alligator that was kept in isolation from the males nevertheless became pregnant and the fetus’s DNA was 99.9 percent identical to its mother’s.
A female alligator in Costa Rica has impregnated herself, the first known case of a ‘virgin birth’ in a reptile.
The crocodile was kept in a zoo and had no contact with male crocodiles. But despite this, a fully developed embryo has been discovered inside the egg.
The fetus is 99.9% genetically identical to the mother, further confirming that no male played a role in the pregnancy. Parthinogenesis has been recorded in birds, lizards, snakes and fish, but never before in crocodiles.
