'Virgin Birth' ability discovered in crocodiles for the first time ever

[Still Waters]

For the first time, scientists have found evidence that female crocodiles can lay eggs without mating, using a strange reproductive strategy that may have its evolutionary roots in the age of the dinosaurs.

In 2018, a lone female American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) held in captivity for 16 years laid a clutch of eggs, with one containing a discernable fetus, a female like her mother.

Genetic analyses from a team of US scientists have now revealed the crocodile produced the eggs without any input from a male mate, in a process called parthenogenesis, more commonly known as 'virgin births'.

Although the eggs didn't hatch, it's an astounding discovery in a new animal kingdom branch that shows how far back this unusual reproductive strategy goes.

https://www.sciencealert.com/virgin-birth-ability-discovered-in-crocodiles-for-the-first-time-ever

The study has been published in Biology Letters.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2023.0129