In 1932 there appeared the first report of an
all-female species of vertebrate, the Amazon molly. To
everybody's vast astonishment, Poeciliid fishes will
livebear young during a prolonged and fruitful
breeding life in the total absence of males. Males are
a convenient means of reshuffling the genetic deck,
but the ladies are quite capable of playing
reproductive solitaire. This simplifies breeding, and
several genera of Poeciliid fish, guppies to you, are
used in the manner of fruit flies or lab mice. How
tragic then, the sequelae to Elmer Poswilly's research thesis.
