Unisexual Mole Salamander
Ambystoma 'unisexual complex'
Summary 2
Unisexual (all-female) populations of ambystomatid salamanders are widely distributed across the Great Lakes region and northeastern North America. The females require sperm from a co-occurring, related species to fertilize their eggs and initiate development. Usually[1] the eggs then discard the sperm genome and develop asexually (i.e., gynogenesis, with premeiotic doubling); however, they may incorporate the genome from the sperm into the resulting offspring.[2] Sperm incorporation commonly[1] takes the form of genome addition (resulting in ploidy elevation in the offspring), or genome replacement, wherein one of the maternal genomes is discarded. This unique mode of reproduction has been termed kleptogenesis by Bogart and colleagues.[2] This is in contrast to hybridogenesis, where the maternal genomes are passed hemiclonally and the paternal genome is discarded every generation before the egg matures and reacquired from the sperm of another species.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Todd Pierson, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://www.flickr.com/photos/twpierson/5714467936/
- Adapted by Summit Metro Parks from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambystoma
More Info
iNat Map
| Habitat | Forest, Wetlands |
|---|---|
| Status | Uncommon |
