Parthenogenesis occurs naturally in some plants, algae, invertebrate animal species (including nematodes, some tardigrades, water fleas, some scorpions, aphids, some mites, some bees, some Phasmatodea and parasitic wasps) and a few vertebrates (such as some fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds).
But virgin birth in animals that normally sexually reproduce is rare, often only observed in zoo animals, and usually happens when the female has been isolated for a long time and has little hope of finding a mate.
Animals that reproduce asexually include planarians, many annelid worms including polychaetes and some oligochaetes, turbellarians and sea stars. Many fungi and plants reproduce asexually.
Most animals that procreate through parthenogenesis are small invertebrates such as bees, wasps, ants, and aphids, which can alternate between sexual and asexual reproduction. Parthenogenesis has been observed in more than 80 vertebrate species, about half of which are fish or lizards.
Scientists have just discovered that female American crocodiles can produce offspring without males—a phenomenon known as facultative parthenogenesis, or “virgin birth."
So-called "virgin births," or asexual reproduction, may not be that uncommon among vertebrates. Take Thelma, a reticulated python at the Louisville Zoo who gave birth to six baby pythons without a partner in 2014.
Analysis of the baby shark's DNA found no trace of any contribution from a male partner. Shark experts said this was the first confirmed case in a shark of parthenogenesis, which derived from the Greek means "virgin birth."
Many species of fish, like the kobudai, are known as “sequential hermaphrodites”: they can switch sex permanently at a specific point in their lives. The majority of “sequential hermaphrodites” are known as “protogynous” (Greek for “female first”): they switch from female to male.
Some marsupials, like kangaroos, can mate and conceive about a day after birth, but not before, says Brandon Menzies, a study co-author and researcher with the University of Melbourne. These wallabies are the only animal, besides the European brown hare, that can become pregnant while already pregnant.
Reciprocal in vitro fertilization (IVF) for lesbians allows both women to participate in the pregnancy. One woman supplies her eggs, retrieved and fertilized by donated sperm in IVF, with the resulting embryo(s) implanted into her partner for pregnancy as a gestational carrier.
Throughout their lifecycle, jellyfish take on two different body forms: medusa and polyps. Polyps can reproduce asexually by budding, while medusae spawn eggs and sperm to reproduce sexually.
Female cockroaches can reproduce asexually, and this phenomenon is known as Parthenogenesis. However, this is not the female cockroaches preferred method of reproduction since female cockroaches resort to asexual reproduction only when there are no male cockroaches available for mating.
In sharks, asexual reproduction commences via a birth mechanism dubbed 'automictic parthenogenesis'. It's a form of self-fertilisation that somehow mimics sexual reproduction.
Their genomes are simply too different to come together and make something that will live. Their genomes cannot mix in any productive way. Imagine you take the instructions for making an airplane and instructions for making a curling iron and mix them together.
Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Scientists say they have documented the first virgin birth in a crocodile. And while the concept may sound bizarre to humans, this type of reproduction is not unheard of across the animal kingdom, according to researchers.
They rely mainly on sexual reproduction, but can use asexual reproduction if necessary. Virgin birth, which usually results in female offspring, is thought to be triggered in several situations. For example, when there aren't many males around.
The swamp wallaby is the only mammal that is permanently pregnant throughout its life according to new research about the reproductive habits of marsupials.
Human-animal hybrids, also known as 'chimeras', are creatures with a mixture of human and animal cells. They are created by injecting human stem cells into the embryo of another animal. So far, no human-animal hybrid embryos have been brought to term ('term' means full gestational period).
Superfetation is a rare event that involves getting pregnant a second time while you're already pregnant. It's so uncommon that cases of superfetation often make headlines. Your body does a good job preventing subsequent pregnancies once an embryo is developing inside your uterus.
But perhaps the most surprising thing about Auanema sp. is that it's found in three sexes – male, female and hermaphroditic. While hermaphroditism is relatively common in the world of invertebrates, this new worm species does things a little differently.
Hermaphroditic animals—mostly invertebrates such as worms, bryozoans (moss animals), trematodes (flukes), snails, slugs, and barnacles—are usually parasitic, slow-moving, or permanently attached to another animal or plant.
Examples of sexual mimicry in animals include the spotted hyena, certain types of fish, passerine birds and some species of insect among others.
Scientists in Australia published a paper on Tuesday about a female shark that performed a “virgin birth.” Although she hadn't been around a male shark in three years, the captive zebra shark—named Leonie—laid eggs that hatched three viable pups.
Some species of sawfish can reproduce without a mate. Scientists documented a series of “virgin births”, reproduction without mating, in a critically endangered sawfish species pushed to the brink of extinction by over-fishing and habitat destruction in 2015.
While zebra sharks are a species that can reproduce asexually, it is rare. Researchers said it's even more unusual that Bubbles chose parthenogenesis even though she was exposed to three mature breeding males.