Zoologists in Paris have said they are delighted and perplexed at the births of four rare Komodo dragons, whose paternity remains a mystery.
The four reptiles were born last month from eggs laid at the London Zoo by a female called Sungai.
Sungai normally lives at the Thoiry wildlife park west of Paris, but was lent to London as part of a European breeding program to help this badly endangered species.
PHOTO: AFP
But Sungai laid the fertilized eggs before even meeting her British lover -- and the last known possible time she could have become pregnant was two years ago, after contact with another Thoiry Komodo dragon called Kinaam.
The founder of Thoiry, Paul de la Panouse, said that there were two possible answers to the riddle.
"Either female Komodo dragons ... have the ability to store sperm or fertilized eggs for long periods, in this case for two years, or they are ... self-reproductive -- they produce clones of themselves," de la Panouse said.
Genetic tests will be carried out to try to explain the mystery.
The Komodo dragon is the world's biggest lizard, reaching up to three meters long. The creature is carnivorous, killing goats, deer and other mammals through deadly bacteria in its saliva.
The dragon is found on the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Gili Motang and Flores, but its numbers have dwindled to around 6,000 as a result of poaching and invasive species. (AFP)
巴黎的動物學家表示,對於四隻稀有的科莫多巨蜥來到人世,他們感到既開心又疑惑。這四隻巨蜥的生父是誰仍是個謎。
上個月在倫敦動物園,這四隻爬蟲類由母巨蜥桑蓋所產的卵中破殼而出。
桑蓋平時住在巴黎西部的圖瓦希野生動物園,但外借到倫敦協助歐洲復育這種瀕危巨蜥的計畫。
不過早在桑蓋與她的英國情人會面前,她就產下受精卵。據了解,上次她可能受孕的時間是兩年前,就在與另一隻叫做基南的科莫多巨蜥接觸後。
圖瓦希野生動物園的創辦人保羅.達拉潘努斯表示,這道謎題有兩個可能的解答。
達拉潘努斯說:「母科莫多巨蜥??有能力長期貯存精子或受精卵,例如兩年;他們有自我繁殖?自我複製的能力。」
基因測試將可解釋這個謎。
科莫多巨蜥是世界上最大的蜥蜴,可達三公尺長。這種生物是肉食性動物,用唾液中的致命細菌來殺害山羊、鹿與其他哺乳類動物。
科莫多巨蜥是在印尼群島的科莫多島、林卡島、吉里莫唐島與弗洛勒斯島被發現的,不過由於盜獵與入侵物種的緣故,數目已減少到六千隻左右。 (法新社/翻譯:賴美君)
Rice is an essential ingredient in Taiwanese cuisine. Many foods are made of rice, adding more variety to our cooking, such as rice cake, or “gui.” Wagui is made by steaming rice flour batter in a bowl. The term “gui” refers to a type of food made from rice, while “wa” refers to a bowl. The pronunciation of “gui” in Taiwanese Hokkien is similar to the word for “nobility” in Chinese, so it is common for people to prepare various types of gui, including wagui, as offerings to the gods or ancestors,. 米是台灣重要的主食,用米製成的食品十分多元,豐富我們的飲食,如米做成的「粿」。粿的意思是米做成的糕點,碗粿是將在來米漿倒入碗中蒸熟,因而得名。粿因為音同「貴」,因此碗粿等粿食常用作供品祭拜神明和祖先。 nobility (n.) 高貴,高尚;貴族 offering (n.) 供品 While Taiwan may not be
Drive-through (or drive-thru) restaurants provide people with the immense convenience of being able to purchase and pick up meals without needing to leave their vehicles. These restaurants have been around for decades, and their success has spawned a number of equally handy services. The drive-through concept originated with the drive-in restaurant, the first of which was established in the US in 1921. Patrons would order and eat the food that was delivered to their cars by workers called “carhops.” Ten years later, a drive-through service was introduced, but it was not until 1947 that the first exclusively drive-through restaurant opened its
It’s no secret that Japanese people have a deep affection for noodles. Like in the rest of East Asia, noodles are an important staple food, second only to rice. Japanese people have enjoyed noodles for over 1,000 years. The first noodles came from China and were introduced around 800 CE. As time passed, noodles in Japan not only became widespread but also developed some unique Japanese characteristics. The three most popular types of noodles in Japan are ramen, soba, and udon. Ramen, typically made from wheat flour, is usually thin and firm. The dough is kneaded and left to
On Tuesday last week, the flame for this summer’s Paris Olympics was lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympic Games in southern Greece in a meticulously choreographed ceremony. It will then be carried through Greece for more than 5,000km before being handed over to French organizers at the Athens venue used for the first modern Olympics in 1896. The pageantry at Olympia has been an essential part of every Olympics for nearly 90 years since the Games in Berlin. It’s meant to provide an ineluctable link between the modern event and the ancient Greek original on which it was initially modelled. Once