does anyone know if a hermaphrodite can reproduce with themself...and if they can, would the child be an exact clone of the parent?

I split this from the other thread, as it was not relevant there.

you mean sexual reproduction?

 

I think some lizards can do things like that. Recently, there was a virgin komodo dragon that gave birth.

It wasn't hermaphroditic though.

I'm sure there's more examples, but the hydra reproduces itself and is a hermaphrodite.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydra_(genus)

that's budding though, and thus not sexual reproduction.

Most hermaphroditic animals avoid 'selfing', but it happens a bit with some species. They won't be clones because of meiosis (each gamete will have a random assortment of chromosomes, and then you have crossing over).

does anyone know if a hermaphrodite can reproduce with themself...and if they can, would the child be an exact clone of the parent?

 

I think he's talking about people. And the answer is no. (as far as I'm aware of)

 

Plus in response to the hydra. Alhough it can reproduce asexualy producing close of itself, as it has both sexual organs I think it can also produce sexually with itself.

 

And no they wouldn't be an exact clone. Although the offspring would obviously only contain genes only from parent, due to genetic recombination the offspring would contain less genetic diversity than the parent.

"Selfing" is essentially inbreeding at the strongest level; if you self a plant (or other species which can self) over multiple generations, you get the same effects of inbreeding (homozygosity, depressed fitness, more errors) faster than any other method.

 

As for lizards, that's what's known as parthenogenesis: the female produces an egg which doesn't divide completely at the second mitotic phase (IIRC), and as a result, the offspring are totally homozygous. So it's not really clonal, and it's not really selfing, but another oddity.

 

Mokele