Plan C: Parthenogenesis*

Report from The Associated Press, mark up by me.

MANCHESTER, England (AP) - A British zoo announced Wednesday the virgin birth of five Komodo dragons, giving scientists new hope for Jona the captive breeding of the endangered species.

In an evolutionary twist, the newborns' eight-year-old mother Flora shocked staff at Chester Zoo in northern England when she became pregnant without ever having a male partner or even being exposed to the opposite sex.

"Flora is oblivious to the excitement she has caused but we are delighted to say she is now a mum and dad," said a delighted Kevin Buley, the zoo's curator of lower vertebrates and invertebrates.

The shells began cracking last week, after an eight-month gestation period, which culminated with the arrival on Tuesday of the fifth black and yellow colored dragon.

He said the reptiles are in good health and enjoying a diet of crickets and locusts, and look just like their mum.

Other reptile species reproduce asexually in a process known as parthenogenesis. But Flora's virginal conception, and that of another Komodo dragon earlier this year at the London Zoo, are the first time two documented cases it has been documented in a Komodo dragon.

[Note: TWO virginal conceptions cannot both be "first".]

The evolutionary breakthrough could have far-reaching consequences for endangered species Jona.


*Method of reproduction where eggs become embryos without male fertilization.