2006-09-05 13:47:57 · 4 answers · asked by Victor C 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Zoology
it's quite rare, but it does occur. also, a lot of animals can reassign their sex - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_change
generally speaking, in a specie that is mostly one sex, there is usually the ability to change one or a few into the opposite sex for breeding purposes
wikipedia has an interesting bit on parthenogenesis as well - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenogenesis
2006-09-05 22:00:34 · answer #1 · answered by Jim 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Not very. The (relatively) slow reproduction rate of animals coupled with a lack of sexual reproduction to maintain a healthy genetic mix for the species means that all female species are evolutionarily speaking dead ends. If you look at a tree of common ancestors, you will not see all female animals as ancestors to other species. The single sex species are the little twigs at the ends of the branches.
2006-09-05 13:59:24 · answer #2 · answered by cha_dooky_do 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The only vertebrate I know of that reproduces asexually is a geckoe but is supposedly much more common with invertebrates. Apparently the selective advantage for this mode of reproduction is the ability to reproduce at a more rapid rate in a resource hostile environment but has the disadvantage of a lack of genetic diversity possibly leading to diseases etc wiping out the entire population.
2006-09-05 15:46:18 · answer #3 · answered by gnypetoscincus 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is common in many species of reptiles, especially the genus Typhops and some of the geckoes
2006-09-06 02:42:44 · answer #4 · answered by Frank 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋