Diners in some local restaurants in Vietnam have been enjoying a type of self-cloning lizard, which researchers have just now stumbled upon. A researcher noticed in the restaurant one day that the lizards they were selling were oddly familiar looking, upon sending the photo to two herpetologists the man knew, the father son team jumped on the next flight they could. While maybe not so funny, when the men arrived they discovered that the drunken Vietnamese restaurant owner had served up all the lizards. I can imagine the discouragement these two U.S. men felt, however they quickly learned that these lizards were not just in one restaurant. Turns out the lizard is an all-female breed that the two herpetologists collected 70 of before determining there were no males to be found. Although exciting to find a new reptile, its possible that this lizard could be gone quickly, I don’t just say this because the Vietnamese seem to be eating large quantities of the animal but also because some scientist suggest that hybrid species are more prone to extinction because they lack genetic diversity from generation to generation. However many self-cloning animals exist to this day such as monitor lizards, boa constrictors, and komodo dragons which have all been observed giving birth without any genetic contribution from a male.
