Parthenogenesis

“Acquire new knowledge whilst thinking over the old, and you may become a teacher of others.”

-Confucius

Currently in my biology course, our class is investigating the kingdom Animalia. The group that I belong in  was assigned to examine the group amniotes, which is comprised of reptiles, birds, and mammals. It was my task to research about reptiles on how they move, eat, reproduce, circulate gases, sense, and more.While I was reading a document about reptilian reproduction, I cam upon a surprising fact. Before this day, I accepted the fact that all organisms in the animal kingdom reproduce sexually (fertilization by male & female) without a single doubt. However, to my surprise, I came upon a species of lizard that are capable of reproducing asexually through a process called Parthenogenesis. This interesting species of lizards is known as whip-tailed lizards. A population of these lizards lack males. So how do they reproduce and create offspring? The answer is obvious yet puzzling: they reproduce asexually. Parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction found in females, where the growth and development occurs without the fertilization by a male counterpart. An interesting aspect is that the mating behaviors of males are still seen shortly after the females lay their eggs.

Parthenogenesis of reptiles is found in whiptails, some geckos, rock lizards, blind snakes, and even Komodo Dragons were proved to be capable of parthenogenesis.

parthenogenesis in whiptails

Through extensive research, I even learned that some insects, crustaceans, snails, and flatworms were capable of reproducing in such way and realized how blind and ignorant human being I was. Thank you Confucius, with the knowledge I acquired , I will enlighten the people around me.

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