Jingszo !

While most animals reproduce sexually, some species rely solely on females for parthenogenetic reproduction. Even in these species, rare males occasionally appear. Whether these males retain reproductive functions is a key question in understanding the evolution of reproductive strategies.

Males engage in mating but do not contribute genetically

The rare males actively mated with females, just like typical males. However, genetic analysis confirmed that no male-derived genes were passed on to their offspring. The study further revealed that these males do not produce functional sperm, rendering them incapable of restoring sexual reproduction in the species.