According to a study published in Wednesday Biology Letters, a scientific journal, the first known occurrence of a “virgin birth” by a crocodile was documented by scientists.
In 2018, the 18-year-old female crocodile laid 14 eggs in her breech, “a not uncommon phenomenon in captive reptiles,” Portal reported.
More interestingly, after three months of incubation, one of the eggs contained a “fully developed stillborn baby crocodile,” the news source said.
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Giant three-legged alligator weighing 1.2,000 pounds quarreled in Texas neighborhood
Scientists then studied the genetic makeup of the crocodile fetus, according to Portal.
“They found DNA sequences that showed it was a result of facultative parthenogenesis (FP), or reproduction without the genetic contribution of males,” Portal wrote.
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The phenomena surrounding FP, often referred to as the “virgin birth,” have also been recorded in other reptiles such as snakes, lizards, sharks, and even birds, according to Biology Letters.
This is the first known and documented example of FP associated with a crocodile.
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The scientific definition of facultative parthenogenesis is “the ability of sexually reproducing species to produce offspring, sometimes asexually,” wrote Current Biology, a biweekly peer-reviewed scientific journal, in 2015.
The female crocodile (not pictured above) laid 14 eggs in 2018 after spending 16 years in isolation – one of the eggs contained a fully developed, stillborn baby crocodile. (iStock)
This means that the female egg cells can develop into a fetus without the fertilization of a male sperm cell.
“In the production of an oocyte, a progenitor cell divides into four cells: one becomes the oocyte and retains important cell structures and the gel-like cytoplasm, while the others contain additional genetic material,” Portal reported.
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“Then one of those cells essentially acts as a sperm cell and fuses with the egg cell to become ‘fertilized,'” the news source continued.
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The American crocodile is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, which classifies the crocodile species as “Vulnerable”.
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😁 Smilosuchus looks like a giant Triassic crocodile 🐊 but was actually a phytosaur – a completely different type of reptile.
When unrelated groups independently evolve similar traits, scientists call this “convergent ➡️⬅️ evolution 🧬”. #DeepTime #FossilFriday pic.twitter.com/pdq2d7jiKy
— Smithsonian NMNH (@NMNH) July 17, 2020
One hypothesis found in Biology Letters was, “FP may be more common in species threatened with extinction,” Portal reported.
The scientists working on the study believe that the new recorded phenomena surrounding the “virgin birth” of reptiles could lead to more information about the ancestors of reptiles, dating back to the Triassic or even Permian periods.
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“This discovery offers tantalizing insights into the possible reproductive abilities of extinct archosaur relatives of crocodiles and birds, particularly members of the Pterosauria and Dinosauria,” the study reads.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Parque Reptilandia, a Costa Rican reptile tourist attraction, for comment.