Two identical sex chromosomes make a male Komodo, and two different ones make a female. Biologists label the Komodo's sex chromosomes as W and Z, so ZZ makes a male and WZ makes a female. Birds, some insects and a few other lizard species also rely on this sex-determination system.
No sperm needed
The type of asexual reproduction in whiptail lizards generates all-female offspring. The Komodo dragon, turns out, can do both: they can reproduce sexually or asexually depending on their environmental conditions. At most zoos, females live alone and are kept separate from other dragons.
Well, the staff at two different European zoos encountered this scenario recently, and their findings have led to the discovery that the Komodo dragon, the largest of the world's lizards, and an endangered species, is capable of reproducing asexually, making it the largest vertebrate animal known to reproduce in this ...
Parthenogenesis — reproduction without the need for fertilization by a male — is rare in vertebrates. Some animals, including several lizard species, are known to be capable of it. But Komodo dragons have never been seen to breed like this before.
Answer and Explanation: A female Komodo dragon is called both a cow and a hen. They can reach an adult length between seven and eight feet and weigh between 150 and 160 pounds. Each year, a single female can lay up to 40 grapefruit-sized eggs in a single clutch.
Komodo dragons have thrived in the harsh climate of the Indonesian Islands for millions of years. Fossils, from 50,000 years ago, show they used to live in Australia once upon a time! Due to the increasing threats of habitat destruction, poaching and natural disasters, these dragons are considered a vulnerable species.
Answer and Explanation: Female Komodo dragons have the ability to reproduce asexually through a process known as parthenogenesis. This process, which has been documented in a variety of animal species, occurs as a result of the maturation of an unfertilized egg.
The Komodo dragon is the largest vertebrate animal known to reproduce asexually. Measuring about 10 feet long and weighing some 300 pounds, the Komodo dragon has been studied extensively for its interesting physiology and behavior.
Do any species of mammals reproduce asexually? There are no known species of mammal that reproduce asexually in nature.
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.
There are ~70 animal species, including snakes, lizards, and Komodo dragons, where no dad is needed. These “virgin births” are called parthenogenesis.
However, they also engage in appeasement behaviour, they show evidence in the wild of co-operative behaviour and have pretty clear dominance hierarchies, and they tame quickly and readily bond with humans.
Komodo dragons are thought to live about 30 years in the wild, but scientists are still studying this.
Creatures big and small
Most animals that procreate through parthenogenesis are small invertebrates such as bees, wasps, ants, and aphids, which can alternate between sexual and asexual reproduction. Parthenogenesis has been observed in more than 80 vertebrate species, about half of which are fish or lizards.
Without females, lizards in the Aspidoscelis genus, like this New Mexico Whiptail (Aspidoscelis neomexicana), reproduce asexually. Unlike other animals that produce this way, however, their DNA changes from generation to generation.
Starfish exhibit an asexual mode of reproduction through binary fission and regeneration. Starfish is a bisexual organism and undergoes regeneration as a method for asexual reproduction. In binary fission, the parent organism's cell divides exactly into two genetically identical daughter cells.
While sea jellies have the simplest anatomy of almost any animal, they have complex and varying lifecycles and reproduce both sexually and asexually.
Females from at least two different species of sharks that were separated from males have had pups without mating. Genetic testing showed that the baby sharks, also known as pups, only carried the female's DNA. This indicates they had been conceived by asexual reproduction.
Female cockroaches can reproduce asexually, and this phenomenon is known as Parthenogenesis. However, this is not the female cockroaches preferred method of reproduction since female cockroaches resort to asexual reproduction only when there are no male cockroaches available for mating.
Asexual forms tend to outcompete sexuals but may eventually suffer higher extinction rates, creating tension between short- and long-term advantages of different reproductive modes.
Macaques
Researchers believe that macaques have sex for pleasure because their sexual behavior is similar to humans. For example, macaques experience elevated heart rates and vaginal spasms when mating.
The split gill mushroom, Schizophyllum commune, is a species estimated to have 20,000 or more distinct sexes.
The Komodo dragon is a living dinosaur and the world's largest lizard. Komodo dragons can grow up to 3-4 metres in length and weigh over 100kg. Found on the Indonesian island of Komodo, there is a stable population of about 3,000 to 5,000 Komodo dragons in the wild.
Some evidence has shown that males and females may remain monogamous for a period of time (this is NOT for life though). To learn about how komodo dragons interact with other species, click here!
There are two acceptable names for a male Komodo dragon. they are called both bulls and cocks. Their counterparts, the females of the species, are called cows and hens. An adult male Komodo dragon can weigh as much as 200 pounds and grow to nine feet long.