What is parthenogenesis? | Surprising Science

Added: 2026-04-28

[00:00:00]The New Mexico whiptail lizard is an all female species. There are no males, but that doesn't stop them from reproducing.

[00:00:06]Like many other animals, female whiptail lizards produce an egg with X chromosomes. Sex is determined by the chromosomes that are carried by the male sperm, which can be either X or Y.

[00:00:18]So without males or sperms anywhere in the process, the whiptail lizard is able to produce a complete egg by herself.

[00:00:25]Without Y chromosomes anywhere in the process, the offspring will all be female and clones of their mother. This process is called pathnogenesis, and it's enabled whiptail lizards to rapidly expand their range and colonize new environments.

[00:00:41]If you want to find out more about this incredible ability and see some more specimens, then you can click here for this accompanying video exploring the topic in more detail. If you like this and want more surprising science content, don't forget to click and subscribe for more natural history content from the museum.