This will probably go unseen but...

Gordon Schuett has been a co-author of mine for a few years now and we have written a number of papers on parthenogenesis, and continue to. In my lab I run all of the DNA tests. While I agree with Greg that they may be seen only as "probable", when you look at the probabilities it is very clear that it is actual. For example, look at my 2011 paper on Parthenogenesis in Boa constrictor. If I recall correctly, the probability of it being sexual reproduction was somewhere in the region of 1 x 10-56. That is essentially improbable. All other cases we have documented - Colombian Rainbow boas, Several cases in Copperheads, Cottonmouths, Gartersnakes, Ball pythons and Reticulated pythons, and new cases we have coming out soon - Several species of rattlesnake, several other species of Thamnophis, Bothrops spp, Atheris species, and several Varanus species, have probabilities that rank them impossible of being sperm retention. Indeed, we set out guidelines for identifying parthenogenesis and distinguishing it from sperm storage based on duration, sex of offspring, and viability of offspring, as we have also documented the longest genetically confirmed case of parthenogenesis in vertebrates - 5.5 years in an Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake. Using genetic markers we can identify the likely mode of parthenogenesis, and differentiate it from sperm storage also. You can check out my papers at www.booth-lab.org. I will be posting many new papers on parthenogenesis in snakes in the coming months and years. Some that make us question the mechanism of sex determination in snakes.

Thanks,
Warren
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Dr. Warren Booth

USARK - Director

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