… when I tell them about the New Mexico whiptail, so I thought I’d publish this again. (It first appeared here in 2005; the citation has been updated.)
How come having a New Mexico whiptail lizard in the utility sink in the 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.
[T]he New Mexico Whiptail, as well as several other all-female species of whiptail lizard, does reproduce, and all of its offspring are female. Moreover, it reproduces by parthenogenesis — its eggs require no fertilization, and its offspring are exact and complete genetic duplicates of the mother.
Scientists understand only partially how this reproductive mode developed, and it raises many questions. One of the most intriguing is how this cloning affects the lizard’s ability to adapt to environmental changes. Since there is no genetic variation except that which occurs through mutation, the New Mexico Whiptail cannot evolve as other species do.
The New Mexico whiptail (Cnemidophorus neomexicanus) is the official reptile of New Mexico.
Must have insects in your garage/utility room. Use that biological control, my brutha.