Parthenogenesis

Parthenogenesis is the development of an embryo without fertilization... basically asexual reproduction in an otherwise sexually reproducing species. I saw an article that described how this had been discovered in Komodo Dragons, when females gave birth to babies without fertilization by a male (they checked it genetically, the offspring was identical to the mother). It is of great benefit for dragons that are transported to another island (maybe by strong streams), and so do not have a male to start a new population.

The interesting part is that the offspring is always male (by the genetics of the whole thing... I dont know how it works, though). The evolutionary reason for this is that once the male gets to the right age, the mother can mate with the son and thus restart sexual reproduction!! (incest)

People are inquiring if the virgin birth of Jesus could also be explained by parthenogenesis.