Virgin Birth, the Color of Fossil Snakes, and More Recent Updates

This post will soon be available in Spanish

As I did in March, I wanted to highlight some recent and exciting updates to some of my older articles.

Snakes That Give Virgin Birth

Phylogenetic pattern of parthenogenesis in snakes
Molecular tree on left, morphological tree on right
From Booth & Schuett 2016

When I wrote about asexual reproduction in snakes in February 2014, new records of this phenomenon were rapidly accumulating, from snakes as distantly related as cottonmouths and boa constrictors. In a new paper, Warren Booth and Gordon Schuett review the knowns and unknowns of "virgin birth" in snakes, a subject which has become their specialty (it even has its own Facebook group). Although obligate parthenogenesis is still known only from Brahminy Blindsnakes (Indotyphlops braminus), the new summary reports that facultative parthenogenesis has now been documented in 20 species of alethinophidian¹ snakes, and this list is anticipated to grow, although so far confirmed cases are limited to five lineages: boids, pythonids, Acrochordus, Crotalinae, and Natricinae. This new synthesis formalizes one of the trends that I wrote about in 2014, namely distinguishing between "Type A" facultative parthenogenesis, in which the offspring produced are large clutches of viable females that seem to have a strange "WW" sex chromosome arrangement (apparently typical of boas and pythons), and "Type B" facultative parthenogenesis, which is where all the offspring are male and few are born alive, many with extreme developmental abnormalities (apparently typical of colubroids).

Most intriguing is the hypothesis laid out for explaining this dichotomy: that boas and pythons (and possibly other basal alethinophidian snakes) might have an XY sex determination system rather than a ZW one like most snakes. Changes from ZW to XY or vice versa (and between genetic and temperature-dependent sex determination) have been documented in geckos and turtles, and could have been overlooked in boas and pythons due to their similar-looking sex chromosomes (tests are currently underway to falsify or verify this hypothesis). If true, this would explain the production of all-female offspring by facultative parthenogenesis; instead of WW, those females would be XX, just like humans!

Identifying Snake Sheds

True-color representation of the fossil snake
(MNCN 66503) in McNamara et al. 2016.
The dentition looks too solenoglyphous for a
colubrid, although the 10-million year old specimen,
which is missing its head, has not and
probably can not be identified to species.

Ever since the first reports of color from the skin and feathers of dinosaur fossils were published in Science in 2010, I've been fascinated by the ability of paleontologists to see in color when they look into the past. A new paper in the journal Current Biology reveals the color of a fossil snake, determined from using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to examine microfossils of certain types of skin cells, called chromatophores. So far, only melanin-based chromatophores (melanosomes, which are responsible for brown and black color) have been detected in fossilized skin and feathers, probably because they are the most resistant to the decomposition process. But, this study was also able to detect and measure other types of chromatophores from fossilized skin, including xanthophores (responsible for yellow, orange, or red color, derived from carotenoids or pteridines) and iridophores (responsible for iridescence). By comparing the fossil's chromatophore abundance and position to that of living reptiles, they were able to reconstruct the original color and pattern of the fossil snake's skin. For example, in the skin of living snakes, xanthophores with many more pteridine granules than carotenoid granules produce a red hue, whereas xanthophores with equal amounts of carotenoid granules and pteridine granules—as in the fossil—produce yellowish hues. Skin regions with abundant iridophores and xanthophores, but relatively few melanophores, are associated with green hues in some living skinks, whereas skin regions with many melanophores, a few xanthophores, and no iridophores suggest correspond to dark brown or black tones. As you can see in the depiction, this snake seems to have had a pale, creamy venter and a green back and sides, with areas of brown/black and yellow/green, perhaps not unlike modern Green Watersnakes (Nerodia floridana) or Boomslangs (Dispholidus typus).

Snakes Flying Without Planes

Photo and diagram of courtship behavior of Chrysopelea paradisi
Taken at the Sepilok Jungle Resort in Sabah, Malaysia
Female shown in gray, males in blue, green, and orange
From Kaiser et al. 2016

A new report on the mating behavior of Paradise Flying Snakes (Chrysopelea paradisi) showed that their courtship can involve multiple males. Although several experiments have been performed on the gliding behavior of these snakes, almost nothing is known about their natural history in the wild. Males of many species of snakes court females en masse by rubbing their chins along their bodies, a behavior which allows them to sense her sex pheromones and jockey for position. The role played by the female in choosing a male is unclear in most snake species; although conventional biological wisdom suggests that females should be the choosy sex, male-male competition seems to dominate courtship behavior in several species of snakes. Multi-male courtship behavior precedes mating in some well-studied temperate snakes (e.g., gartersnakes emerging from hibernation), as well as in some tropical species (e.g., anacondas, some other southeast Asian colubrids, such as Boiga irregularis and Dryophiops rubescens). Of course, it seems that most female snakes can store sperm for long periods of time, and they may have some control over which male's sperm to use to fertilize their eggs, so the genetic contribution of a female snake's male partners may not follow from their courtship or mating success. Unlike the terrestrial or aquatic mating balls documented for other snakes, the flyingsnakes in this observation were able to move as a unit for almost 50 feet through complex habitat—under a porch, up a tree—an adaptation that seems to fit their active, arboreal lifestyle and might help reduce the likelihood of a predatory attack during what must otherwise be a vulnerable time.

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1 In a few places, the authors use "alethinophidian" to refer to boas, pythons, and their relatives but not caenophidians, when instead they should have either used "henophidian" or "basal alethinophidian" (they mostly use the latter term throughout). Many people don't like the term "henophidian" because it is a paraphyletic group, but it is a convenient way to refer to non-scolecophidian, non-caenophidian snakes. In my mind it's essentially synonymous with "basal/stem alethinophidian". Alethinophidians are all snakes except for blindsnakes (scolecophidians), and Caenophidia is a subset of Alethinophidia. There are also at least three references to "Caenophidia + Colubroidea", which is confusing because Colubroidea is a subgroup of Caenophidia, and Caenophidia = Colubroidea + Acrochordus, which is perhaps what they meant.^↩

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to Gordon Schuett for clearing up some of the details of his recent paper.

REFERENCES

Booth W, Schuett GW (2016) The emerging phylogenetic pattern of parthenogenesis in snakes. Biological Journal of the Linnaean Society 118:172-186 <link>

Gamble, T., J. Coryell, T. Ezaz, J. Lynch, D. Scantlebury, and D. Zarkower. 2015. Restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) reveals an extraordinary number of transitions among gecko sex-determining systems. Molecular Biology and Evolution 32:1296-1309 <link>

Kaiser H, Lim J, Worth H, O’Shea M (2016) Tangled skeins: a first report of non-captive mating behavior in the Southeast Asian Paradise Flying Snake (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae: Chrysopelea paradisi). Journal of Threatened Taxa 8:8488–8494 <link>

Kuriyama, T., K. Miyaji, M. Sugimoto, and M. Hasegawa. 2006. Ultrastructure of the Dermal Chromatophores in a Lizard (Scincidae: Plestiodon latiscutatus) with Conspicuous Body and Tail Coloration. Zoological Science 23:793-799 <link>

Li, Q., K. Q. Gao, J. Vinther, M. D. Shawkey, J. A. Clarke, L. D’Alba, Q. Meng, D. E. G. Briggs, and R. O. Prum. 2010. Plumage color patterns of an extinct dinosaur. Science 327:1369 <link>

McNamara, Maria E., Patrick J. Orr, Stuart L. Kearns, L. Alcalá, P. Anadón, and E. Peñalver. 2016. Reconstructing Carotenoid-Based and Structural Coloration in Fossil Skin. Current Biology <link>

McNamara, M. E., D. E. G. Briggs, P. J. Orr, D. J. Field, and Z. Wang. 2013. Experimental maturation of feathers: implications for reconstructions of fossil feather colour. Biology Letters 9 <link>

Life is Short, but Snakes are Long by Andrew M. Durso is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Snakes that Give Virgin Birth

In continuing association with the group that brought you the #SnakesAtYourService December blog carnival, this post is part of the new Reptile & Amphibian Blogging Network's first event, #HerpsAdapt. Starting on February 12th (in honor of Charles Darwin’s birthday), this event will showcase the remarkable evolutionary abilities of reptiles and amphibians.

Click here to read this post in Spanish

Haga clic aquí para leer este blog en español

One of several excellent new science mnemonics
from the popular webcomic xkcd

Virgin birth (a form of asexual reproduction) has fascinated humans for centuries. Recently, biologists have uncovered many of the mysteries associated with the ability of some animals to produce offspring without ever mating. This phenomenon is common in bacteria, most fungi, many plants, and some invertebrate animals, where it takes many forms. It is relatively uncommon in vertebrates, although a few species of fishes, amphibians, and reptiles reproduce using a form of asexual reproduction called parthenogenesis, which is when an embryo develops from an unfertilized egg cell. Parthenogenesis can be facultative or obligate. Species with facultative parthenogenesis can also reproduce sexually (and usually do), whereas species with obligate parthenogenesis cannot and are usually all-female. Both types of parthenogenesis are found in snakes, and several new examples have been documented in the past few years.

Brahminy Blindsnake (Ramphotyphlops braminus)

Only one species of snake is known to have obligate parthenogenesis. It is a member of the Scolecophidia, or blindsnakes, called the Brahminy Blindsnake or Flowerpot Snake (Ramphotyphlops braminus). This tiny egg-laying species is made up only of females and is extremely widespread, partially thanks to the ability of just a single individual to colonize new areas. Unlike mammals, most reptiles (and birds) have a ZW chromosomal sex determination system, so instead of the males being XY and the females XX (click here for a review), male snakes are ZZ and female snakes are ZW. However, in common with other obligate parthenogenetic species, Brahminy Blindsnakes are triploid, meaning that they have three sets of chromosomes rather than two. Examination of the karyotype (a picture of one complete set of chromosomes) of Brahminy Blindsnakes has revealed evidence of hybridization, which has also played a role in the origin of other polyploid obligate parthenogenetic vertebrates, including certain lizards, salamanders, and fishes.

Boa constrictor (Boa constrictor)

Facultative parthenogenesis has been documented in a number of species of snakes that normally reproduce sexually. Most of the time this takes place when someone has kept a female snake in captivity for a long period of time. Although it can be difficult to distinguish parthenogenesis from long-term sperm storage, which is possible in snakes over periods of up to at least 5 years, new molecular methods have allowed biologists to differentiate offspring that were produced parthenogenetically from those that were produced from sexual reproduction following prolonged sperm storage. Looking back at supposed cases of lengthy sperm storage may reveal facultative parthenogenesis in unexpected places.

In snakes, there are a wide variety of cellular mechanisms by which parthenogenesis can occur. Evidence for the exact type of facultative parthenogenesis can be gained by examining the sex and karyotype of the offspring, and appears to be correlated with the higher taxonomic group. Captive booid snakes such as rainbow boas (Epicrates maurus) and boa constrictors (Boa constrictor) have given birth to viable female offspring that have a WW sex chromosome pair, which is different from any other known chromosome combination. Why the parthenogenetically-produced offspring of these species are not a 50:50 mix of ZW and WW (the two combinations a female boa is capable of making via meiosis) is unknown.

Burmese Python (Python bivittatus)

Burmese python (Python bivittatus) females are capable of making exact ZW female clones of themselves, using a mechanism that is functionally similar to but distinct from that used by obligate parthenogenetic species like the Brahminy Blindsnake. The python offspring are all females and are mostly viable, having suffered no loss of genetic information. In both boas and pythons, the sex chromosomes are monomorphic, meaning that the Z and the W chromosome are approximately equal in size and indistinguishable from one another. It has been suggested that this method of reproduction might help species circumvent limitations on lifespan and establish new populations when individuals are isolated for long periods of time, although this claim will require more evidence to evaluate because parthenogenesis has not been observed in wild boas or pythons. However, new data from molecular ecologist Warren Booth has resulted in a reinterpretation of some of the conclusions of the original description of parthenogenesis in pythons [edit: specifically, Booth & colleagues suggested that the mode is in fact similar in boas and pythons, but that the female python who gave birth to exact clones was herself born via parthenogenesis - which is still exciting because it proves the reproductive competency of parthenogenetically-produced offspring].

Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)

In contrast, facultative parthenogenesis in caenophidians is fraught with difficulties. Most of the offspring produced this way are not viable because they have suffered a loss of some genetic information. Many are stillborn or have deformities or other abnormalities. All are males, and the litters are unusually small. Nevertheless, parthenogenesis has been documented in both captive and wild Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon picivorus) and Copeprheads (Agkistrodon contortrix), and in captive Eastern Diamondback (Crotalus adamanteus), Timber (C. horridus), and Aruba Island (C. unicolor) Rattlesnakes, four species of gartersnakes (Thamnophis couchii, T. elegans, T. marcianus, and T. atratus), and Arafura filesnakes (Acrochordus arafurae). Most of these species are commonly kept in captivity, and they span the gamut from the most basal caenophidians to the most derived, but the infrequent occurrence and low viability of facultative parthenogenesis in these species suggests that although all caenophidians may be capable of parthenogenesis, it is probably not very ecologically or evolutionarily significant. The reproductive potential of the few captive-born parthenogenetically-produced Copperheads that have survived is currently being assessed.

The next steps in this area of herpetology are to discover more about the different cellular and developmental mechanisms that control and influence parthenogenesis, document parthenogenesis in species and taxonomic groups where it is not so far known, and understand more about the hybrid origins of obligate parthenogenetic species. We still don't know what is required to induce parthenogenetic reproduction in either facultative or obligate species - some lizards require copulation with other females, and many salamanders require egg activation by the sperm of a male salamander of a different species. Who knows what bizarre adaptations parthenogenetic snakes await discovery?

Next month: the story of the most widespread snake in the world!

Update: In August 2014 a captive Green Anaconda joined the ranks of boid snakes known to be capable of facultative parthenogenesis, although as of November the observation was still awaiting confirmation via genetic methods. I also learned recently that parthenogenetic snakes play a starring role in a new curriculum for teaching mitosis and meiosis to introductory biology students.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks to xkcd, JD Willson, Todd Pierson, and Pierson Hill for their drawings and photographs.

REFERENCES

Booth, W., D. H. Johnson, S. Moore, C. Schal, and E. L. Vargo. 2011. Evidence for viable, non-clonal but fatherless Boa constrictors. Biology Letters 7:253-256 <link>

Booth, W., L. Million, R. G. Reynolds, G. M. Burghardt, E. L. Vargo, C. Schal, A. C. Tzika, and G. W. Schuett. 2011. Consecutive virgin births in the New World boid snake, the Colombian Rainbow Boa, Epicrates maurus. Journal of Heredity 102:759–763 <link>

Booth, W. and G. W. Schuett. 2011. Molecular genetic evidence for alternative reproductive strategies in North American pitvipers (Serpentes: Viperidae): long-term sperm storage and facultative parthenogenesis. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 104:934–942 <link>

Booth, W., G. W. Schuett, A. Ridgway, D. W. Buxton, T. A. Castoe, G. Bastone, C. Bennett, and W. McMahan. 2014. New insights on facultative parthenogenesis in pythons. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 10.1111/bij.12286 <link>

Booth, W., C. F. Smith, P. H. Eskridge, S. K. Hoss, J. R. Mendelson, and G. W. Schuett. 2012. Facultative parthenogenesis discovered in wild vertebrates. Biology Letters 8:983-985 <link>

Germano, D. J. and P. T. Smith. 2010. Molecular evidence for parthenogenesis in the Sierra garter snake, Thamnophis couchii (Colubridae). The Southwestern Naturalist 55:280-282 <link>

Groot, T., E. Bruins, and J. Breeuwer. 2003. Molecular genetic evidence for parthenogenesis in the Burmese python, Python molurus bivittatus. Heredity 90:130-135 <link>

Kearney, M., M. K. Fujita, and J. Ridenour. 2009. Lost sex in the reptiles: constraints and correlations. Pages 447-474 in I. Schön, K. Martens, and P. van Dijk, editors. Lost Sex: The Evolutionary Biology of Parthenogenesis. Springer, Dordrecht, Holland <link>

Reynolds, R. G., W. Booth, B. M. Fitzpatrick, G. W. Schuett, and G. M. Burghardt. 2012. Successive virgin births of viable male progeny in the checkered gartersnake, Thamnophis marcianus. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 107:566–572 <link>

Schuett, G., P. Fernandez, W. Gergits, N. Casna, D. Chiszar, H. Smith, J. Mitton, S. Mackessy, R. Odum, and M. Demlong. 1997. Production of offspring in the absence of males: evidence for facultative parthenogenesis in bisexual snakes. Herpetological Natural History 5:1-10 <link>

Wright, R. 2014. Why Meiosis Matters: The case of the fatherless snake. CourceSource 1:1-6 <link>

Wynn, A. H., C. J. Cole, and A. L. Gardner. 1987. Apparent triploidy in the unisexual brahminy blind snake, Ramphotyphlops braminus. American Museum Novitates 2868:1-7 <link>

Life is Short, but Snakes are Long by Andrew M. Durso is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.