Snake breeding: No mate required?

Have we been doing this whole snake breeding thing wrong? According to a study released last month, virgin births, or parthenogenesis, may be much more common in reptiles than once believed. Long thought to be a phenomena seen only in captive reptiles, collaborative DNA research by the Copperhead Institute, Wofford College in South Carolina, and San Diego State University, suggests otherwise.

The researchers collected genetic samples from long-term studies of the snakes — copperheads from Connecticut, and cottonmouths from Georgia. They gathered specimens from 22 litters of copperheads and 37 litters of cottonmouths, both the mothers and their offspring. DNA analysis confirmed that in one litter from each species, the offspring were solely the product of the mother, with no genetic contributions from a father....Essentially, somewhere between 2.5 and 5 percent of litters produced in these populations may be resulting from parthenogenesis.

The researchers hope to study other snakes, like water snakes in Oklahoma, next to determine how common it is in other species, and whether a single female can populate a location. To read more, check out the article on NBC, or read the research paper at the journal site Biology Letters.