Female snake living in captivity without a male companion gives birth – again
“For the second time in 2 years, a captive snake in south-east Missouri has given birth without any interaction with a member of the opposite sex.
Officials at the Missouri department of conservation’s Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center say a female yellow-bellied water snake reproduced on her own in 2014 & again this summer. The snake has been living in captivity, without a male companion, for nearly 8 years...the two born last summer are on display at the nature center, about 100 miles south of St Louis.
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, & reptiles, including some snakes...
Parthenogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction in which offspring develop from unfertilized eggs, meaning there is no genetic contribution by a male. It’s caused when cells known as polar bodies, which are produced with an animal’s egg & usually die, behave like sperm & fuse with the egg, triggering cell division.
The conservation department said there are no other documented cases of parthenogenesis by a yellow-bellied water snake...
Robert Powell, a biology professor & snake expert at Avila University in Kansas City, said the Brahminy blind snake – a small burrowing animal native to southeast Asia commonly known as the flowerpot snake – has long been the only known snake that routinely reproduces without a male’s contribution.
In the Missouri case, it’s possible – but unlikely – that momma snake simply stored sperm from her time in the wild. But Michelle Randecker, a naturalist at the center, said e8 years is too long. Powell agreed, saying a female snake usually can’t store sperm for longer than a year, although there are accounts of successful storage as long as 3 years.
‘If nothing else, it’s an interesting phenomena. Whether this is long-term storage or parthenogenesis, it’s cool. Just another sign that nature works in mysterious ways.'
AJ Hendershott, outreach & education regional supervisor for the conservation department, said there was some pride in having the first snake of its species reproduce through parthenogenesis.
‘This is the way you make discoveries when you keep things in captivity,’ Hendershott said. ‘You learn things about what they’re capable of.'"
Associated Press in St Louis
in theguardian.com
Sept. 17/ 2015
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