Komodo Dragon Virgin Birth

Source:
www.guardian.co.uk...

It has all the ingredients of a Christmas miracle: not only a virginal mother but an expected late December due date. This time, however, the mother in question is Flora, a Komodo dragon.

Flora has astonished keepers at her home, Chester Zoo, by laying a clutch of seemingly viable eggs, despite having no mate.

"Essentially, what we have here is an imminent virgin birth and, because the eggs were laid back in May, it is not beyond the realms of possibility that the incubating eggs could hatch around Christmas time," said Kevin Buley, the zoo's curator of lower vertebrates and invertebrates.

The news, details of which will be published next week in the journal Nature, had "very important implications for understanding how reptiles are potentially able to colonise new areas", Mr Buley said. "Theoretically, a female Komodo dragon in the wild could swim to a new island and then establish an entirely new population of dragons.

This reminded me of the Part in Jurassic Part where
the Doctor told everyone "Nature will find a way"

Could humans actually be capable of doing this millions of years from now?

Edit: Im sorry for posting this on Medical Issues it should have been Science and exploration...My apologies to the mods

[edit on 12/20/2006 by a1ex]

Yep. Its a phenom called parthenogenesis. I was reading about it on Wiki not too long ago.

Interesting stuff, although its never been observed in humans. It mostly occurs (if ever) in some species of plants and a few invertibrates.

Who knows though? Evolution is a mighty thing, and maybe in a few thousand more years human males will be a thing of the past. Reminds me of some old science fiction movie I saw when I was young.

nteresting stuff, although its never been observed in humans. It mostly occurs (if ever) in some species of plants and a few invertibrates.

If my memory serves me correct, Jesus was born from the Virgin Mary.

Another Source:
www.cnn.com...

Originally posted by super70

nteresting stuff, although its never been observed in humans. It mostly occurs (if ever) in some species of plants and a few invertibrates.

If my memory serves me correct, Jesus was born from the Virgin Mary.

Wow, that would make you over 2000 years old.
Unless of course you were referring to that story book. Which is hardly a scientific journal.


This is quite intruiging, I would love to see what the process of fertilization goes through without an actual injection of said fertilization.

Perhaps this comodo is half way between male and female. That would certainly explain some things. It wouldnt be very far fetched to see the gender gap screw up a little and end up with a female that produces a little bit of sperm on the side.

[edit on 20-12-2006 by johnsky]

I knew somebody would throw the jesus thing up. Its just funny how nobody is bringing up any of the numerous other mythological beings who were born to a virgin mother. Jesus was only one.

And plus, I think this post was talking about actual events. Im not surprised somebody jumped on that connection though.

It's the holidays, Jesus is on alot of peoples minds. It's a shame he leaves those minds come January 1st.

Perhaps the Komodo is not as understood as believed, and perhaps female Komodos have the ability to store sperm, delay conception, or delay the beginning of growth. I suppose I could read into it, and find out if the lady in question was born in the sanctuary or not.

Originally posted by DjNothing
Evolution is a mighty thing, and maybe in a few thousand more years human males will be a thing of the past.

Interesting side note: Isn't sunlight a fundamental necessity in order for testosterone (males) to exist?

Huh. Wonder what will happen if the human race ever ventures outward into space on long journeys? Will human males still be fertile without testosterone, or long periods without sunlight to aid in testosterone levels within men?

I don't know. But, if not .. . . then perhaps women will find a way to journey backwards in time. Hope their driving skills are good, and they do not miss the mark.

Of course, this is all just speculatory science fiction stuff. But, then again everything that is accepted a science fact was first considered science fiction by people.

Just a thought.

At any rate, (back on topic) when are these eggs scheduled to hatch?

[edit on 25-12-2006 by Esoteric Teacher]

Originally posted by johnsky
Unless of course you were referring to that story book. Which is hardly a scientific journal.

Unfortunate way of looking at it. Seems to limit the possibility of the book. But who knows, you could be right, and billions of others could be far more gullable and naive than you. But, odds must be in favor of you knowing far more than them.

Maybe there'll be a Komodo jesus then hundreds of years later all Komodo dragons will be carrying bibles?

Interesting side note: Isn't sunlight a fundamental necessity in order for testosterone (males) to exist?

Artificial sunlight? Also if you somehow remove testosterone from a male, that won't make him an it.

Evolution is a mighty thing, and maybe in a few thousand more years human males will be a thing of the past

If that happens I doubt there'll be males or females. Kinda like a mix (genetically / hormonely).

EDIT: OMG I HAVE 666 ATS POINTS!!11

[edit on 25-12-2006 by PisTonZOR]

Originally posted by Esoteric Teacher
Unfortunate way of looking at it. Seems to limit the possibility of the book. But who knows, you could be right, and billions of others could be far more gullable and naive than you. But, odds must be in favor of you knowing far more than them.

The fact that 1 billion people believe the bible to be true doesn't mean it's story happen. There's still 6-7 more billion people that either believe in other stories or none at all.
but this isn't the point of this thread, we're talking about parthenogenesis...

Easy PisTonZOR.
I just threw a WATS your way to get you out of the danger zone. You're safe now. It was just a temporary evil that befell you. (wipes brow) whew! Close one.

Update:


Update

MANCHESTER, England (AP) -- A British zoo on Wednesday announced the virgin birth of five Komodo dragons, giving scientists new hope for the captive breeding of the endangered species.

In an evolutionary twist, the newborns' 8-year-old mother, Flora, shocked staff at Chester Zoo in northern England when she became pregnant without ever having a male partner or even being exposed to the opposite sex....