Abstract
Parthenogenesis, a rare phenomenon in Chelicerates, apart from mites, is reviewed in scorpions, notably Tityus serrulatus Lutz & Mello from Brazil, Tityus columbianus (Thorell) from Colombia and Tityus metuendus Pocock from Peru and Brazil. Thelytokous parthenogenesis (with all-female broods) is most often observed. The only known exception to this is T. metuendus in which arrhenotoky (all-male broods) has been observed. In the present paper, current ideas regarding parthenogenesis in scorpions are summarized. The notion of geographic parthenogenesis ('parthénogenèse géographique'), coined by Vandel in 1928, is discussed. This rule is tentatively exemplified by a new case of parthenogenesis reported in a scorpion of the genus Tityus C. L. Koch, inhabiting 'Pico da Neblina' in Brazil / Venezuela.
Highlights
As stated by Mayr [38], “in parthenogenetic animals, all zygotes are egg-producing females that do not waste half of their eggs on males.” sexual reproduction has the long-term advantage, which is undoubtedly the reason why it has appeared several times during evolutionary history and is the principal reproductive mechanism in living organisms [1, 36, 61]
Parthenogenesis is a form of reproduction in which the ovum develops without fertilization
The notion of geographic parthenogenesis (‘parthénogenèse géographique’), coined by Vandel in 1928, is discussed. This rule is tentatively exemplified by a new case of parthenogenesis reported in a scorpion of the genus Tityus C
Summary
As stated by Mayr [38], “in parthenogenetic animals, all zygotes are egg-producing females that do not waste half of their eggs on males.” sexual reproduction has the long-term advantage, which is undoubtedly the reason why it has appeared several times during evolutionary history and is the principal reproductive mechanism in living organisms [1, 36, 61]. Whenever closely related bisexual and parthenogenetic species occur in a given region, their geographical patterns tend to be different.
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