By Jeremy Coles
Reporter, BBC Nature
A form of virgin birth has been found in wild vertebrates for the first time.
Researchers in the US caught pregnant females from two snake species and genetically analysed the litters.
That proved the North American pit vipers reproduced without a male, a phenomenon called facultative parthenogenesis that has previously been found only in captive species.
Scientists say the findings could change our understanding of animal reproduction and vertebrate evolution.
First identified in domestic chickens, such ”virgin births” have been reported in recent years in a few snake, shark, lizard and bird species.
Läs mera här: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/19555550
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