Crocodile found to have made herself pregnant

The first case of a crocodile who made herself pregnant has been identified at a zoo in Costa Rica.

She produced a foetus that was 99.9% genetically identical to herself.

The phenomenon of so-called “virgin birth” has been found in species of birds, fish and other reptiles, but never before in crocodiles.

The scientists say the trait might be inherited from an evolutionary ancestor, so dinosaurs might also have been capable of self-reproduction.