A surprising number of animals can reproduce without sex

From Business Insider

The most recent case of this is has been happening at an aquarium in Queensland, Australia. A female leopard shark has had three female babies all on her own.

Source: Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium

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At first, people thought that virgin births happened only in extreme environments, when animals felt pressure to perpetuate their species. That includes animals in captivity, like a python at a Louisville Zoo that had six babies in 2012 without ever coming in contact with a male python.

Source: BBC

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But scientists have figured out that animals in the wild can also have virgin births. Back in 1966, scientists discovered that wild whiptail lizards were capable of making their own female offspring.

Source: Scientific American

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Amphibians, like the salamander, are also capable of parthenogenesis.

Source: BMC Biology

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In theory, parthenogenesis alone poses a big problem for genetic diversity, since you’re passing down the same sets of genes from mother to daughter. In 2006, scientists learned that two female Komodo dragons were capable of producing offspring even when separated from males. But, they observed, the females could go back to sexual reproduction if males were around.

Source: Nature

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Genetic diversity in a species is important for fending off diseases and maintaining a growing population. This bonnethead shark is another type of shark that can have a virgin birth in captivity.

Source: The Royal Society

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If a species relies on super-similar genetics, then its chances of being completely wiped out are higher. But that shouldn’t be a big problem for animals like the pit viper — which can reproduce through parthenogenesis in the wild — because there are plenty of males for females to mate with.

Source: The Royal Society

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Birds, like domesticated turkeys and chickens, have also been able to produce offspring without mating. In the 1950s, scientists discovered that unfertilized turkey eggs could develop embryos through parthenogenesis.

Source: World’s Poultry Science Journal

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The insect world is also known to have virgin births. In 2008, researchers found that in the case of Cape honeybees in South Africa, the virgin queen bee was able to make both male and female baby bees.

Source: Genetics

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Mammals, for the most part, aren’t capable of virgin births. But in 2004, researchers figured out a way to make mice reproduce via parthenogenesis, though keeping it alive until adulthood is pretty tricky.

Source: Nature

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And what about humans? It’s not likely to happen any time soon, researchers say. And if it does, it won’t happen without scientists tweaking our genes. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a possibility.

Source: Business Insider

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