Snakes have two different ways of producing young, either by laying eggs or live birth. The snakes that have live birth do not carry their babies in the womb like mammals; rather, they grow their babies inside of their bodies as if they were in eggs.
Conservation Department herpetologist Jeff Briggler said virgin births are rare but can occur in some species through a process called parthenogenesis. It occurs in some insects, fish, amphibians, birds and reptiles, including some snakes, but not mammals.
What Kind of Snakes Give Live Birth? Not all snakes lay eggs. Among them are vipers, boas, anacondas, most water snakes and all sea snakes except for a single genus.
Parthenogenesis, or virgin birth, is possible, and female snakes that have never encountered a male can lay viable eggs. This happens in the wild when there is no access to male snakes, and live offspring can be produced even from this non-coupling.
Among all the sexual vertebrates, the only examples of true parthenogenesis, in which all-female populations reproduce without the involvement of males, are found in squamate reptiles (snakes and lizards).
In snakes, there is evidence of two naturally occurring modes of asexual reproduction. Obligatory parthenogenesis (OP) is found in exclusively parthenogenic species such as the Brahminy Blind Snake (Indotyphlops braminus) which have all-female populations [2].
The green anaconda is one of the largest creatures in the world to undergo a reproductive strategy by which females can impregnate themselves.
Most snakes are born as a result of sexual reproduction. Some snakes are able to perform parthenogenesis, which is a form of asexual reproduction. In parthenogenesis, the female snake uses her own genetic material to fertilize her eggs.
The vast majority of animals need to breed to reproduce. But a small subset of animals can have offspring without mating. The process, called parthenogenesis, allows creatures from honey bees to rattlesnakes to have so-called “virgin births.”
Creating offspring without sperm
Females of these species, which include some wasps, crustaceans and lizards, reproduce only through parthenogenesis and are called obligate parthenogens.
The Diamond Python are egg laying snakes, and live in a variety of habitats, including heaths, woodland, forest and urban areas. They also are known to occupy the roof space of suburban homes, living on mice and rats.
Unfertilized snake eggs are called slugs and are normally smaller and yellower than fertilized eggs. Unlike bird eggs, which have a hard outer shell, snake eggs feel soft and leathery. If you're thinking that one of the eggs in the photo below looks like a peanut, you're right!
"It was a surprise," Wanner told CNN. "We didn't expect her to drop another clutch of eggs, honestly." Ball pythons, which normally dwell in Africa, are known to reproduce asexually. Females snakes store sperm to fertilize at a later date, but at 15 years, this could be the longest documented case of a snake waiting.
Male snakes have two penises, each with its own testicle, but they only use one at a time. During copulation, the male inserts one hemipenis into the cloaca of the female to transfer his sperm. Female snakes can become pregnant immediately or choose to delay fertilization, storing sperm for up to five years.
A new study from South Africa observed wild snake mothers protecting and warming their young for weeks after they emerged from eggs.
Many species of fish, like the kobudai, are known as “sequential hermaphrodites”: they can switch sex permanently at a specific point in their lives. The majority of “sequential hermaphrodites” are known as “protogynous” (Greek for “female first”): they switch from female to male.
Mules can't reproduce. Here's the biological explanation why. Belleville News-Democrat.
Animals that reproduce asexually include planarians, many annelid worms including polychaetes and some oligochaetes, turbellarians and sea stars. Many fungi and plants reproduce asexually. Some plants have specialized structures for reproduction via fragmentation, such as gemmae in liverworts.
Tightly inbreeding lines of distinctive morphs is fairly common in herpetoculture. It seldom has negative consequences, and it is usually the fastest way to produce offspring that display or at least carry the genes for an interesting trait.
Most reptiles reproduce sexually, although some are capable of asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction has been identified in six families of lizards and one snake family. The sex of reptile offspring can be determined by the environment.
Most snakes develop eggs inside of them and eventually lay those eggs. The eggs will then incubate from atmospheric heat or the mother's body heat from. She may leave the pile alone or may curl herself around it to keep the clutch warm. The babies hatch sometime later.
Researchers say that asexual reproduction generally occurs when females can't find a suitable mate to reproduce with and, as in the case of snakes, need to use their finite supply of eggs.
The goal of the males is to get access to the female's cloaca for breeding, but she generally has more control over the situation than the free-for-all appearance lets on. Females can choose to open or close their cloaca, so while males scramble on her in a ball, she gets to decide who in the mating knot to breed with.
Storing sperm for six months
The sperm are kept in small pockets along a spongy tube that leads to the snakes' ovaries. "It had been known that they had this ability but we didn't know how or why," said Mr Allen, who studies Environmental Science at Charles Darwin University.