Natural History Wanderings

BBC Nature reported on two new discoveries.

Researchers discovered the first instance of virgin birth in a wild vertebrate. They found that North American pit vipers were the able to reproduce without a male. This may change how we look at animal reproduction and vertebrate evolution. Read more at: Virgin births discovered in wild snakes

Scientists have learned that Antarctic bivalves have the ability to switch sex. The hermaphrodite nature of  Lissarca miliaris was discovered by scientists from National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. They who found that the molluscs could change sexes to more effectively reproduce in cold oceans. Read more at Antarctic molluscs ‘switch sex’