Costa Rican Crocodile Achieves Virgin Birth

Scientists have discovered the first-known instance of a "virgin birth" by a crocodile, which had been living in isolation for 16 years at a Costa Rican zoo. The female American crocodile laid 14 eggs in 2018, and after three months of incubation, one egg was found to contain a fully formed stillborn baby crocodile. Scientists tested the crocodile fetus' genetic makeup and found DNA sequences showing it was a result of facultative parthenogenesis (FP), or reproduction without the genetic contribution of males. The American crocodile is considered vulnerable and at risk of extinction in the wild.