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  1. #1
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    3 cheers (& 3 offspring!) for Charlie the "single" Komodo dragon

    https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/09/us/ko...rnd/index.html

    A Komodo dragon with no male partner gave birth to three hatchlings

    By Alicia Lee, CNN
    Updated 12:44 AM ET, Tue March 10, 2020


    (CNN)Charlie, a female Komodo dragon at the Chattanooga Zoo in Tennessee, has proved to be the ultimate independent lady after successfully giving birth to three hatchlings without a male partner.

    Even though Charlie and a potential mate named Kadal were placed together in hopes of breeding, the first-time mother produced the three brothers, named Onyx, Jasper and Flint, on her own through a phenomenon called parthenogenesis. It's extremely rare among vertebrates: Only 70 backboned species can do it, which is about 0.1% of all vertebrates, according to Scientific American.
    The hatchlings were born last August, but since zoo staff were never able to confirm any successful breeding between Charlie and Kadal, they ordered a DNA test.
    "*Maury Voice* Kadal, you are NOT the father!" the zoo announced in a Facebook post.
    Chattanooga Zoo
    about 2 weeks ago




    Our Komodo Dragon hatchling DNA results are in!
    *Maury Voice* Kadal, you are NOT the father!
    In September 2019, we announced that our female Komodo Dragon, Charlie, had become a first-time mother to three hatchlings. At the time, it was unknown if they were a product of breeding with our male, Kadal, or if parthenogenesis had occurred. DNA results show that the hatchlings were, in fact, reproduced through parthenogenesis! The six-month-old brothers named Onyx, Jasper, and F...
    See More















    Komodo dragons have evolved to reproduce both sexually and parthenogenetically because they mainly live isolated in the wild and become violent when approached, according to the zoo.
    Parthenogenesis happens when another egg, rather than sperm, fertilizes an egg, according to Scientific American. The biological process of making an egg cell, called oogenesis, typically produces a polar body, which contains a duplicate copy of egg DNA.




    "Normally, this polar body shrivels up and disappears. In the case of the Komodos, though, polar bodies evidently acted as sperm and turned ova into embryos," Scientific American said in 2006 when the first cases of parthenogenesis in Komodo dragons were reported.


    Female Komodo dragons carry WZ sex chromosomes, while males carry the ZZ type. When parthenogenesis occurs, the mother can only create WW or ZZ eggs and since WW eggs aren't viable, only ZZ eggs are left to produce all male hatchlings, the zoo said.
    "Our staff is thrilled to play a part and to be able to witness this truly miraculous occurrence," Dardenelle Long, Chattanooga Zoo's president and CEO, said in a news release. "As the Komodo dragon is listed as vulnerable to extinction, these hatchlings are even more special and represent a bright future for their species."













    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  2. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Bogertophis For This Useful Post:

    Kam (03-12-2020),Reinz (03-10-2020)

  3. #2
    BPnet Lifer Reinz's Avatar
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    Great story! Thanks 😊
    The one thing I found that you can count on about Balls is that they are consistent about their inconsistentcy.

    1.2 Coastal Carpet Pythons
    Mack The Knife, 2013
    Lizzy, 2010
    Etta, 2013
    1.1 Jungle Carpet Pythons
    Esmarelda , 2014
    Sundance, 2012
    2.0 Common BI Boas, Punch, 2005; Butch, age?
    0.1 Normal Ball Python, Elvira, 2001
    0.1 Olive (Aussie) Python, Olivia, 2017

    Please excuse the spelling in my posts. Auto-Correct is my worst enema.

  4. #3
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    They're pretty cute, aren't they? At least while they're so little...
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  5. #4
    BPnet Veteran Spicey's Avatar
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    Re: 3 cheers (& 3 offspring!) for Charlie the "single" Komodo dragon

    How cool.
    "Something Clever"

    1.0 Paradox Albino KSB - Spotticus
    0.1 Dutch Rabbit - Wendy

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