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[EN VIDÉO] Alligator, Alligator and Caiman: What’s the Difference? We often confuse alligator, crocodile and caiman. They all belong to the order of crocodiles,…
With its average size of 4 to 5 meters – but individuals can exceed 6 meters per 1,000 kg – the American alligator is one of the largest alligators in the world. He has an incredible vision: the first case “Virgin Birth” – already observed in birds, sharks, lizards or even snakes – as a member of the order Crocodile This includes, for example, alligators or caimans.
of Virginia Tech researchers (USA) say they found 7 viable eggs – one with a fully formed embryo – laid by 14 American female alligators. They are convinced that it is a “Virgin Birth”, the animal in question has already been living in isolation from others for 16 years. Genetic analyzes show that the fetus’s DNA is almost identical to the mother’s. Hence the idea of reproduction by optional parthenogenesis. Understand from unfertilized female gamete.
On the one hand, the researchers point out that this type of fertilization may occur more often in species on the brink of extinction, and on the other hand, it has now been observed in the lineage of dinosaurs. A bird—and a crocodile—suggests a common evolutionary origin.
