Boa Constrictor gives "virgin birth" ???

Wow.

So.... it more than just makes you go blind!
Try explaining that to your parents!

I have yet to see anyone touch on the amazing part of this. aside from the parthenogenesis, the sex chromosomes of all 22 female hatch-lings was, until this clutch, considered non-viable. for snakes, ZZ are Male, ZW is female ... these are all WW (hyper-female?). the genetic material didn't not come from a male, since males do not carry the W chromosome. and they're all the same? over the top amazing!

Seems the boa has done this before and has only done so in the presence of males. Perhaps this is a response to that: as she senses she is the only female amongst males and she likely has a high chance of producing males should she mate, she creates a brood of females which in turn can only create more females when they mate with males. Then these 3rd generation females mate with the males with the possibility of birthing males. All this as a means of ensuring there are sufficient females to birth future generations.

"The female [boa] has had not one virgin birth, but actually two, in spite of being housed with and observed to be courted by multiple males.

So....how do we know the snake was a virgin....did someone ask it in Parseltongue

Im sorry, I have to go with occams razor on this one - it shared quarters with males, and was courted...but then gives a virgin birth? reminds me of the old sam kinison bit "He said he was an angel...and you believed him??"