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    Titan in the Playground
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    Default Re: Life ... uh ... finds a way

    Parthenogenesis is not unheard of in squamata reptiles. There's been evidence for about a decade now that boa constrictors can reproduce asexually. Rare, for sure, and very cool but mundane.

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    Vinyadan's Avatar

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    Default Re: Life ... uh ... finds a way

    You know, there are gifs of that picture.
    Quote Originally Posted by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1955
    I thought Tom Bombadil dreadful — but worse still was the announcer's preliminary remarks that Goldberry was his daughter (!), and that Willowman was an ally of Mordor (!!).

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    Titan in the Playground
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    Default Re: Life ... uh ... finds a way

    From the report, it seems they're not certain this really was a case of parthenogenesis. Female bats routinely store sperm while they hibernate over the winter, only going through with fertilization if their body condition at the end of winter is robust enough to support a pregnancy. Some snakes can do the same, so it's not certain yet with this individual.

    That said, there's at least one lizard species (New Mexico whiptail) in which all known individuals are female, and as noted parthenogensis is well-known in lizards and snakes, as well as a wide variety of other species. And some mammals have their own very weird reproductive quirks. Life finds all kinds of ways.

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    Titan in the Playground
     
    Lizardfolk

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    Default Re: Life ... uh ... finds a way

    Parthogenesis as a backup plan is smart, as the primary plan it's pretty bad. It would be interesting to see if her descendants reproduce the same way and she becomes her own species.
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    Vibranium: If it was on the periodic table, its chemical symbol would be "Bs".

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    Default Re: Life ... uh ... finds a way

    I would make a joke involving a certain raptor, but I'm not sure wether the rules would allow it, so I'm leaving it to your imaginations.
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    Imp

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    Default Re: Life ... uh ... finds a way

    Quote Originally Posted by Tvtyrant View Post
    Parthogenesis as a backup plan is smart, as the primary plan it's pretty bad. It would be interesting to see if her descendants reproduce the same way and she becomes her own species.
    Mutations would accumulate over generations. Which would just reduce offspring viability. The odds of getting enough positive mutations to become her own species are astronomically low.
    Black text is for sarcasm, also sincerity. You'll just have to read between the lines and infer from context like an animal

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    Titan in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: Life ... uh ... finds a way

    Quote Originally Posted by Mastikator View Post
    Mutations would accumulate over generations. Which would just reduce offspring viability. The odds of getting enough positive mutations to become her own species are astronomically low.
    If all of her descendants reproduce parthogentically they are effectively a separate species already, and very quickly will be genetically incompatible with the general python population as it deviates from her. This does happen from time to time (see several types of wasp.) I just think the idea of one off becoming your own species is neat.
    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    Vibranium: If it was on the periodic table, its chemical symbol would be "Bs".

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    Yora's Avatar

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    Default Re: Life ... uh ... finds a way

    Quote Originally Posted by Tvtyrant View Post
    Parthogenesis as a backup plan is smart, as the primary plan it's pretty bad. It would be interesting to see if her descendants reproduce the same way and she becomes her own species.
    There are only so many significant mutations a pathogenetic line can acquire before something highly debilitating or fatal shows up. And without sexual reproductions, you can't separate the beneficial mutations from the harmful ones.
    I think it's very likely that any such line would become nonviable long before it becomes genetically incompatible with its origin species.

    Can we even define something as a species if it doesn't sexually reproduce? How are bacteria classified?
    We are not standing on the shoulders of giants, but on very tall tower of other dwarves.

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    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    PaladinGuy

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    Default Re: Life ... uh ... finds a way

    This story was also in the same section of the website of one about them trying to get rid of Boa's in Florida.
    One method of which being to capture a male, tag him, and then let him find the females and then get them and the eggs.

    Which left me wondering that there would be quite a selection incentive for female pythons to avoid male pythons, and to favour parthenogenesis (as it already occurs) more than normal.

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    Titan in the Playground
     
    Lizardfolk

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    Default Re: Life ... uh ... finds a way

    Quote Originally Posted by Yora View Post
    There are only so many significant mutations a pathogenetic line can acquire before something highly debilitating or fatal shows up. And without sexual reproductions, you can't separate the beneficial mutations from the harmful ones.
    I think it's very likely that any such line would become nonviable long before it becomes genetically incompatible with its origin species.

    Can we even define something as a species if it doesn't sexually reproduce? How are bacteria classified?
    There are currently 80 species of reptile which have become uni-sex and the pathogenic line has outlasted the sex breeding line, so this is not only possible but happens fairly frequently (ie 99.999999% of species are extinct, so there have been thousands of species that have done this.)

    It's definitely less likely to be viable than breeding is.
    Quote Originally Posted by The Glyphstone View Post
    Vibranium: If it was on the periodic table, its chemical symbol would be "Bs".

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    Troll in the Playground
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    Default Re: Life ... uh ... finds a way

    Quote Originally Posted by Yora View Post
    There are only so many significant mutations a pathogenetic line can acquire before something highly debilitating or fatal shows up. And without sexual reproductions, you can't separate the beneficial mutations from the harmful ones.
    I think it's very likely that any such line would become nonviable long before it becomes genetically incompatible with its origin species.

    Can we even define something as a species if it doesn't sexually reproduce? How are bacteria classified?
    Marbled Crayfish, P. Virginalis, are parthenogenetic and are considered to be a distinct species from their closest relative, the Slough Crayfish, P. Fallax.

    Very successful one too, they're an invasive species on four continents despite having no known natural populations.
    Sanity is nice to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

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    Default Re: Life ... uh ... finds a way

    Quote Originally Posted by Yora View Post
    There are only so many significant mutations a pathogenetic line can acquire before something highly debilitating or fatal shows up. And without sexual reproductions, you can't separate the beneficial mutations from the harmful ones.
    I think it's very likely that any such line would become nonviable long before it becomes genetically incompatible with its origin species.

    Can we even define something as a species if it doesn't sexually reproduce? How are bacteria classified?
    Yes, but a debilitating mutation doesn't affect the whole population. If there are, let's say, five offspring, of which one has a deadly mutation, there are still four viable ones.
    And if it happens a few generations down, that one deadly mutation still has a hundred viable cousins.

    It works. There's plenty of parthenogenetic species. Their problem isn't mutations, it's disease resistance.
    Resident Vancian Apologist

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