Crocodile found to have made herself pregnant
The first case of a crocodile who made herself pregnant has been identified at a zoo in Costa Rica.
She produced a foetus that was 99.9% genetically identical to herself.
The phenomenon of so-called "virgin birth" has been found in species of birds, fish and other reptiles, but never before in crocodiles.
The scientists say the trait might be inherited from an evolutionary ancestor, so dinosaurs might also have been capable of self-reproduction.
The egg was laid by an 18-year-old female American crocodile in Parque Reptilania in January 2018. The foetus inside was fully formed but stillborn and so did not hatch.
The crocodile who laid the egg was obtained when she was two years old and was kept apart from other crocodiles for its entire life. Because of this, the park's scientific team contacted a US team from Virginia Polytechnic, which specialised in virgin births, known scientifically as parthenogenesis.
They analysed the foetus and found that it was more than 99.9 % genetically identical to its mother - confirming that it had no father.
Crocodile found to have made herself pregnant - BBC News