Immaculate Conception In a Boa Constrictor

crudmonkey writes "Researchers have discovered a biological shocker: female boa constrictors are capable of giving birth asexually. But the surprise doesn't end there. The study in Biology Letters found that boa babies produced through this asexual reproduction — also known as parthenogenesis — sport a chromosomal oddity that researchers thought was impossible in reptiles. While researchers admit that the female in the study may have been a genetic freak, they say the findings should press researchers to re-think reptile reproduction. Virgin birth among reptiles, especially primitive ones like boas, they argue may be far commoner than ever expected."

Comments

Immaculate Conception doesn't mean virgin birth

[BadAnalogyGuy]

A lot of people make the mistake of equating "Immaculate Conception" to the virgin birth of Jesus. Actually, it refers to the birth of Mary (mother of Jesus) being born without Original Sin. What the author is referring to is the Annunciation, which is the virgin conception of Jesus within Mary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Conception

Immaculate Conception?

[Imnimo]

This is not what Immaculate Conception means. The Immaculate Conception is the conception of Mary, not of Jesus, with the idea being that Mary is conceived without original sin so as to make her a proper vessel for Jesus. Then again, since snakes don't have original sin, maybe every snake conception is immaculate.

And the chromosomal oddity is...

[Samantha Wright]

Two WW chromosomes. In mammals, we have X and Y chromosomes to determine sex—but in reptiles, fish, and of course birds, the norm for a female is ZW, and the norm for a male is ZZ. This brought to you by Tilde R: Helping Those Who Hate RTFA.

Re:Wow

[Hijacked Public]

More interesting than the article is that I now know there is such a thing as a serpentarium. Everywhere I've lived, and in all the movies I've watched, they've just been called 'reptile zoo' or something similar.

I imagine people go into a serpentarium and the lights are low. Everyone sits down, reclines their seat back and stares upward. Then the lights come up to reveal thousands of serpents suspended from the ceiling, writhing around. People ooh and aah.

Sounds awesome.