Largest parthenogenetic lizard

Parthenogenesis or "virgin birth" is the asexual production of offspring by a female without prior fertilization by a male having taken place. Several lizard species have been shown to reproduce parthenogenetically – indeed, certain of these are exclusively parthenogenetic, never undergoing sexual reproduction. The largest species for which parthenogenesis has been confirmed is the world's largest species of living terrestrial lizard, the Komodo dragon Varanus komodoensis, which can grow to 3.1 m in length, and is native to Komodo and certain other small Indonesian islands. At least three captive female Komodo dragons in zoos are known to have laid eggs produced parthenogenetically, i.e., in the absence of any contact with males. These are: Sungai at London Zoo, UK, in 2005; Flora at Chester Zoo, UK, in 2006; and one of the two adult females at Sedgwick County Zoo in Kansas, USA, in 2008.