Komodo Dragon Gives Birth to Three Hatchlings Without a Male Partner

NBC2 ^ | Monday, March 9th 2020

[nickcarraway]

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.

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. She was able to do this 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 percent of all vertebrates, according to Scientific American.

[nickcarraway]

Wow. Komodo Dragons are already dangerous. Imagine how bad they will be growing up in a fatherless home, with no positive male role model?

[Hypo2]

Must have sat on the wrong toilet seat

[Oshkalaboomboom]

They warned us about that in the first Jurassic Park movie.

[mad_as_he$$]

+.

[Paladin2]

Where did she get the Y-Chromosomes?

[KC_Lion]

Life finds a way.

[Vermont Lt]

“Nature will find a way.”

[VeniVidiVici]

Surprising given Hillary’s age.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Nature will find a way. Jurassic Park

[irishjuggler]

It’s different in komodo dragons. Females have W and Z chromosome. Males have two Zs. If mom produces two Z gametes, which she can, and they merge, voila... ZZ = male offspring.

[CheshireTheCat]

Congratulations on your angles Charlie!

[Rockingham]

Yeah, I had a cousin who claimed the same thing. The resulting kid looked an awful lot like the boy down the street who joined the Marines and went overseas before the birth.

[Trailerpark Badass]

Lol, is that something you already knew, or did you look it up?

[DIRTYSECRET]

I thought bicycles only worked on fish.

[irishjuggler]

I’d heard of it before, but looked it up to verify. :)

[Rockingham]

Different system for Komodo Dragons. Parthogenic offspring are all males.

[hanamizu]

Where did she get the Y-Chromosomes?

---

Don’t know if dragons to the XY thing or the ZW thing. And temperature can have a role as well. If it is true parthenogenesis, the offsprings should be genetic clones of mom.

[Roccus]

Climate change!

[Trailerpark Badass]

Kudos!

[smvoice]

This is exactly where Chelsea Clinton came from. Mother was/is a kimono dragon and daddy was/is a mystery.