errr, wait, that would be physically impossible. Hmmmm...
New Medical Miracle: Female Fathers Child
Hey, a Komodo Dragon did it!
http://www.sunjournal.com/story/197626-3/bsection/A_dragon_joins_other_species_in_virgin_birth/A dragon joins other species in virgin birth
By Faye Flam , The Philadelphia Inquirer
Sunday, February 4, 2007
A Komodo dragon named Flora proved last week that you don't always have to wait for your prince to start a family. Though she lives in the Chester Zoo in England with just her sister, Nessie, the 8-year-old virgin laid a clutch of fertile eggs last spring. After a long incubation period, five baby Komodos finally hatched.
Though it came as a surprise, it's no miracle, say biologists. Nor is it a threat to male Komodo dragons. Though males in other species have died out when females learned to reproduce without them, the quirks of dragon sex chromosomes ensured that all Flora's offspring came out male.
Scientists suspect that female Komodo dragons have always had the ability to bear sons on their own in a pinch. Such a trick could prove a handy adaptation in the Komodo's natural Indonesian island habitat. If you're founding a new colony and don't happen to have males around, you can always make some yourself.
Despite their reproductive flexibility - and a fearsome bite that kills prey from blood poisoning over several days - these 200-plus-pound reptiles are no match for human encroachment. Some scientists estimate there are just 4,000 individuals left in the world, all living on just three islands: Komodo, Flores and Rinca.
>more
Welcome to DU, and thanks for the amusing break from my duties on the Election Reform thread.
:rofl:
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(159 posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
