Mother Komodo dragon produced babies: ‘She don’t need no man’

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At the Denver Zoo, a Komodo dragon named Kristica, has two new babies, and she did it all without a male partner. The “she don’t need no man” refrain is just there for the drama though; the two hatched babies were brought into the world by a process called parthenogenesis.

According to the zoo, parthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction where only one parent can pass a chromosome and use meiosis to replicate it.

Check out the video:

https://www.facebook.com/DenverZoo/videos/1165538023789021/

“We’re #closedbutstillcaring and that means life goes on at the Zoo! Meet our newest Komodo dragon residents, who have come into this world as the result of parthenogenesis—which involves taking one chromosome from their only parent, a female, and then through meiosis develop the second. That means Malcom and Owen are male, since in Komodos, two identical sex chromosomes make a male, and two different ones make a female. Weird! But also very cool. Share some love for our little 🐉🐉 in the comments!
📸: Zookeeper Troy

Mom laid a clutch of eggs seven months ago, and has since been transferred to another zoo. There is no evidence the parents care for their young. One of the babies will remain at the Denver Zoo and one will eventually be transferred.

In case you had two questions as this writer did – yes, the two babies were named after Jurassic Park characters – Malcolm and Owen. And as to the second question, – yes, komodo dragons can also reproduce sexually.

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