A UK zoo has seen one of the rarest ‘immaculate conceptions’ in nature after one of their lizards gave birth – without even having a mate. Telford’s Exotic Zoo’s female casque-headed iguana produced eight hatchlings during the last week of August in a so-called “virgin birth”.
It is due to a process called parthenogenesis, which allows unfertilised eggs to develop into embryos, creating offspring that are identical genetic clones of their mother. Zoo owner Scott Adams admitted: “When we confirmed the eggs were fertile without any contact with a male, our jaws hit the floor. This is one of the rarest events in the animal kingdom.”
The casque-headed iguana (Laemanctus Serratus) are also known as cone-headed lizards, the word casque means helmet and refers to the scaly structure on top of their head.
Casque-headed iguanas are capable of a rapid change of colour between green and brown. In the wild, casque-headed iguanas have been observed running while standing upright on their back legs.
Rarely descending from the trees, their thin body, long limbs, and a tail two-thirds the length of their body (up to 50 cm) mean that they can easily balance on leaves and branches while foraging for insects.
Casque-headed iguanas are native to Central and South America, and the zoo said this was one of few documented cases of parthenogenesis in zoos worldwide.
Mr Adams explained: “We were quite surprised when our long-term resident decided to lay some eggs, we thought, we’ll pop them in the incubator, they stayed looking quite white, quite healthy.
“A couple of months later, we’ve got eight babies running around. They’re all females, they’re all pretty much clones of mum. They all speak at exactly the same time!”
The hatchlings are living in the zoo’s specialist reptile nursery, where temperature and humidity is maintained around the clock.
It is hoped they will be on display in a public enclosure in the coming weeks, while two of the babies are heading off to another zoo.
He added: “For us, it’s a powerful reminder that life finds a way in the most unexpected circumstances.
“This story gives us an amazing opportunity to talk with our visitors about genetics, evolution, and the challenges that reptiles face in the wild.
“It’s not just exciting, it’s important for science and conservation education too.”
