ISOLATED CROCODILE GETS PREGNANT AND HAS VIRGIN BIRTH

A Costa Rican zoo's female crocodile laid eggs at the start of 2018. Although this is a common occurrence, the fact that the crocodile had been living alone for 16 years made this particular scenario extremely unusual. While infertile eggs can be laid by crocodiles, the clutch (group) of this one appeared normal. In an incubator, one egg even matured. But instead of producing new life the way it did in Jurassic Park, this gave birth to a stillborn crocodile.

Naturally, one would wonder why this occurred in the first place. A group of researchers explains in a paper that was just published in the scholarly journal Biology Letters. According to the report, the baby crocodile was an asexual parthenogen, meaning that it developed from an unfertilized egg cell into an embryo. This baby was essentially a "virgin birth," containing only its mother's genetic material. It has never been discovered in crocodiles before.

In the animal realm, parthenogenesis is not unheard of. It is known that elasmobranch fish, which include sharks, rays, and sawfish, as well as birds, lizards, and snakes, reproduce in this manner. And now crocodiles are on that list.

Given the evidence and analysis, it is highly probable that parthenogen-producing dinosaurs and pterosaurs, which belong to the class of vertebrates known as archosaurs, also produced offspring. Lead author Warren Booth states, "The earliest members of this group are the crocodylian, and the most recent are the birds." "The dinosaurs and pterosaurs are in between these."

The scholarly article's researchers are still studying crocodiles. They will undoubtedly learn new things about evolution from researching these organisms.