It is well known that most lizards possess the extraordinary ability to regenerate their tail. Instead, if they lose any other part of their body, they must learn to live without it, since the regeneration of legs and head is much more complex. However, to our amazement, there is a species capable of regenerating its entire body: we speak of Leiolepis ngovantrii, better known, for obvious reasons, as the autoclonable lizard

Originally from Vietnam, this species is part of the traditional Vietnamese menus and lives among the arid coastal dunes and bushes. It was discovered when a group of investigators saw, in a tank of a restaurant of Vietnam, several specimens of this species. Generally, individuals of this genus have different colors depending on their sex, but it was not the case with the tank lizards ... the scientists noticed that all the specimens were identical and immediately, they asked " if there are only specimens of the same Sex, how do they reproduce? "It was then that they became aware that they were clones formed by parthenogenesis.

What is parthenogenesis?

Parthenogenesis is a form of reproduction based on the development of unfertilized female sex cells (ovules). Species with this ability do not need sperm to reproduce, since the egg has enough genetic information for the development of the embryo.

So all the specimens Leiolepis ngovantrii are females . Each of these females has exactly the same female offspring, so there is no genetic variability and, therefore, flexibility in the process of natural selection, is scarce. Because of this, their ability to adapt genetically to environmental changes is very limited. Their only way of obtaining variability is mutations.