Why is it more common to see two heads on some species like turtles or snake than it is to see a two headed shark or lion?
In: Biology
Snakes and turtles produce way more babies.
Female green turtles can produce 1900-2300 eggs in a lifetime.
Snakes can easily have dozens of babies in a litter and reproduce 2 times per year.
Sharks have a reproductive cycle that is 1-2 years long and very few species produce more than a dozen offspring.
Lions have a litter of only 1-6 with complex reproduction. It seems the lioness will refrain from intercourse if her litter survives but if they perish she will try to have more within a few months.
So a big part of it is just that it’s a numbers game. You also have to consider things like, if a shark that regrows teeth has to regrow teeth for 2 heads it’s spending a lot more energy (reducing its chance of survival) than a snake with a bit of extra snake on it.
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