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Virgin lizard proud mum and dad (BBC News)

Yrys

Yrys

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6293831.stm

A female Komodo dragon lizard who laid fertilised eggs despite being a virgin, has become a mother and father of five.

Flora produced a clutch of 10 eggs without mating at Chester Zoo, Cheshire, in May 2006.

Although other lizards reproduce this way, it has only recently been recognised in Komodo dragons.
...
"When the first of the babies hatched, we didn't know whether to make her a cup of tea or pass her the cigars."
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Pity; the lizard was 4 weeks too late for Christmas. Apparently virgin births are popular at that time of year.  ;)
 
Journeyman said:
Pity; the lizard was 4 weeks too late for Christmas. Apparently virgin births are popular at that time of year.  ;)
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He must've been following the Julian calendar, then.
 
Frederik G said:
He must've been following the Julian calendar, then.
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Uh...guys...didn't they follow the Julian calendar way back when?
 
Michael Baker said:
Actually I never  :-[
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That's very, very sad. GO RENT IT! Or better yet, buy it!

In short, some species of lizards can, in the absence of males, self-fertilize. I'm not quite sure how that happens, but it's probably just a question of the ovulae (or it's lizardly equivalent--I figure it's the same idea) having all the genetic material required to make a baby, instead of half, and that genetic material is exactly the same as the mother's--in effect, the new baby is a clone of it's mother. Of course, I'm no biologist so I don't really know, do I?
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_calendar

However, it accumulated significantly over time, and eventually led to the reform of 1582, which replaced the Julian calendar with the more accurate Gregorian calendar.
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I thought the calendar was change in the 600, but Wiki says 1600...
 
Yrys said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_calendar

I thought the calendar was change in the 600, but Wiki says 1600...
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Wikipedia also said the US Republic was a thousand years old, elephants are not in danger of being extinct, and the world is going to end in two minutes,* so I'd say you need a better source. :)

*I made that last one up. I'd look damn stupid if the world did end in two minutes though, wouldn't I? I'm not even wearing clean underpants!
 
I LOVE wiki :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenogenesis

Parthenogenesis (from the Greek παρθενος parthenos, "virgin", + γενεσις genesis, "birth") describes the growth and development of an embryo or seed without fertilization by a male. Parthenogenesis occurs naturally in some species, including lower plants (called agamospermy), invertebrates (e.g. water fleas, aphids, some bees and parasitic wasps), and vertebrates (e.g. some reptiles,[1] fish, and, very rarely, birds[2]).
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Frederick, make your mother proud, and go change your underpant :)!

 
And to put my Biology 11 course to good  use I shall.... from memory... answer this question:

If the mom is able to produce offspring all by herself why then is a male necessary in the species???

-Well the reason for regular sexual intercourse as we know it is that it provides a much greater op pertunity for genetic diversity and eve loution due to the much greater chance for mutation in a species genes therefore allowing the said species a greater chance of adapting to it's environment, thereby giving it an edge over competing species in it's niche.

My biology teacher would be so proud of me... :D
 
Biology, eh? That fancy course. Well, it makes more sense then what I thought, good job  ;)
 
GAP said:
He must've been following the Julian calendar, then.
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Uh...guys...didn't they follow the Julian calendar way back when?
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Just one guy made that statement....and he's both RMC and Navy  ::)

(his RMC jacket actually has "Kick Me" embroidered on the back. Really, I've seen it  ;D )
 
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