A crocodile has made herself pregnant in what is the first recorded example of a “virgin birth” in the species.
The reptile was kept in captivity in a zoo in Costa Rica and had no contact with any male crocodiles, but a fully formed foetus was found inside one of her eggs.
The developing reptile was 99.9 per cent genetically identical to its mother, which proves it had no father.
Scientists said the capability could have been inherited from dinosaurs, which may also have been able to reproduce by themselves and are close relatives of crocodiles.
There are documented examples of virgin births, or parthenogenesis, in snakes, lizards and fish. But this is the first proven example of it in crocodiles.