Thursday, February 25, 2010

No Sex Needed.


The whiptail lizards are found in Southwestern parts of the United States and Mexico. The female lizards need no male to reproduce.
Hammerhead sharks and Komodo dragons can reproduce asexually if necessary but small lizards like the checkered whiptails (in picture) dont really have a choice. The downside is the loss of genetic exchange, it is a major disadvantage to them in a changing environment. The offspring will be totally identical to the parent, no change in DNA, same weakness in genetics, same susceptibility to disease, and no improvements.
There is extreme benefit to asexual reproduction though. If there is no need for male aid, females can reproduce often and increase the population.

No comments:

Post a Comment