Parthenogenesis in snakes

[Warren_Booth]

Folks,
Here is a recent paper by Gordon Schuett and myself which reviews parthenogenesis in snakes.

Abstract:
Parthenogenesis occurs across a variety of vertebrate taxa. Within squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes), agroup for which the largest number of cases has been documented, both obligate and facultative types ofparthenogenesis exists, although the obligate form in snakes appears to be restricted to a single basal species ofblind snake, Indotyphlops braminus. By contrast, a number of snake species that otherwise reproduce sexuallyhave been found capable of facultative parthenogenesis. Because the original documentation of this phenomenonwas restricted to subjects held in captivity and isolated from males, facultative parthenogenesis was attributed asa captive syndrome. However, its recent discovery in nature shifts the paradigm and identifies this form ofreproduction as a potentially important feature of vertebrate evolution. In light of the growing number ofdocumented cases of parthenogenesis, it is now possible to review the phylogenetic distribution in snakes andthus identify subtle variations and commonalities that may exist through the characterization of its emergingproperties. Based on our findings, we propose partitioning facultative parthenogenesis in snakes into twocategories, type A and type B, based on the sex of the progeny produced, their viability, sex chromosomemorphology, and ploidy, as well as their phylogenetic position. Furthermore, we introduce a hypothesis(directionality of heterogamety hypothesis) to explain the production of female-only parthenogens in basalalethinophidian snakes and male-only parthenogens in caenophidian (advanced) snakes


Booth, W. & Schuett, GW. 2016. The emerging phylogenetic pattern of parthenogenesis in snakes. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 118, 172-186

Let me know if you have any questions.

Warren