… when I tell them about the New Mexico whiptail, so I thought I’d publish this again. (It first appeared here a year ago.)
How come having a New Mexico whiptail lizard in the utility sink in NewMexiKen’s garage is so much more pleasant than say finding a tarantula or mouse there would be? I scooped her (and they are all females) into a coffee can and released her outside.
A single female New Mexico whiptail, all by herself, quite efficiently and handily produces entire populations of lizards without dads: offspring that are genetically identical to her in every detail (except for very rare mutations). All are striped and streamlined, and all are healthy females that, except for mating, enjoy doing the usual lizard things, like basking in the sun. The entire species is a thriving girls club; no sperm allowed.
This bizarre method of reproduction is known as parthenogenesis, a Greek word meaning “virgin birth.”
The New Mexico whiptail (Cnemidophorus neomexicanus) is the official reptile of New Mexico.