Dear MEL Topic Readers,
A Komodo dragon with no male partner gave
birth to three hatchlings
Komodo dragons are the largest, heaviest
lizards in the world — and one of the few with a venomous bite. Komodo dragons live
only in a few Indonesian islands of the Lesser Sunda group. They live in
tropical savanna forests but range widely over the islands, from the beach to the ridge
top. These stealthy hunters use their sense of smell to detect food, or prey, with
their long tongues to sample the air.
Although male dragons usually grow larger
than females, no obvious structural differences are seen between the sexes. However,
dominant males compete for females in ritual combat. Once mated, female Komodo
dragons usually lay about 30 eggs at a time.
Last year, in the Chattanooga Zoo Chattanooga
Zoo' in Tennessee, USA, a female Komodo gave birth to three hatchlings without mating
with a male partner. It is called pathogenesis, a type of reproduction in which
living things develop from eggs that have not been fertilized. The rare
reproduction occurs when another egg, rather than sperm, fertilizes an egg. It
is welcomed by researchers and zoologists since the Komodo dragon is listed as
vulnerable to extinction.
What are the roles of male Komodo dragons now?
Enjoy reading the article and learn about the
Komodo dragon and pathogenesis reproduction.
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