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| This snake is giving birth without having sex and no-one quite knows why | |
| (4 months later) | |
| A snake at an American zoo has given birth for the second time in two years despite not having had sex. | A snake at an American zoo has given birth for the second time in two years despite not having had sex. |
| The yellow-bellied water snake, a resident of Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center in Missouri, reproduced on her own in 2014 and again this summer, her keepers say. | The yellow-bellied water snake, a resident of Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center in Missouri, reproduced on her own in 2014 and again this summer, her keepers say. |
| An intern who looks after the snake found freshly-laid membranes in July, even though the snake has not lived with a male for the eight years it has lived in captivity. | An intern who looks after the snake found freshly-laid membranes in July, even though the snake has not lived with a male for the eight years it has lived in captivity. |
| The 'virgin birth' - the first known example in this kind of snake - has surprised scientists, who think it is the result of a rare type of asexual reproduction called parthenogenesis. | The 'virgin birth' - the first known example in this kind of snake - has surprised scientists, who think it is the result of a rare type of asexual reproduction called parthenogenesis. |
| Conservation Department herpetologist Jeff Briggler said parthenogenesis, where offspring develop from unfertilized eggs, is rare but can occur in some species. | Conservation Department herpetologist Jeff Briggler said parthenogenesis, where offspring develop from unfertilized eggs, is rare but can occur in some species. |
| Another theory, thought unlikely but not impossible, is that the snake simply stored sperm from her time in the wild. But sperm usually dies after a year. | Another theory, thought unlikely but not impossible, is that the snake simply stored sperm from her time in the wild. But sperm usually dies after a year. |
| Parthenogenesis occurs in some insects, fish, amphibians, birds and reptiles, including some snakes, but not mammals. | Parthenogenesis occurs in some insects, fish, amphibians, birds and reptiles, including some snakes, but not mammals. |
| It is caused when cells, known as polar bodies, which are produced with an animal's egg and usually die, behave like sperm and fuse with the egg, triggering cell division. | |
| This year's offspring didn't survive, but the two born last summer are on display at the centre, about 100 miles south of St. Louis. | |
| Robert Powell, a biology professor and 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. | Robert Powell, a biology professor and 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. |
| And Thelma, an 11-year-old reticulated python - the longest species of snake in the world - laid 61 eggs in the summer of 2012 without the help of a mate. | And Thelma, an 11-year-old reticulated python - the longest species of snake in the world - laid 61 eggs in the summer of 2012 without the help of a mate. |
| AJ Hendershott, from the conservation department, said there was some pride in having the first snake of its species reproduce through parthenogenesis. | AJ Hendershott, from the conservation department, said there was some pride in having the first snake of its species reproduce through parthenogenesis. |
| He said: "This is the way you make discoveries when you keep things in captivity. You learn things about what they're capable of." | He said: "This is the way you make discoveries when you keep things in captivity. You learn things about what they're capable of." |
| Additional reporting by Associated Press | Additional reporting by Associated Press |