When a virgin gives birth it's called Miraculous births as well as parthenogenesis, birth without fertilization.
Parthenogenesis, means "virgin creation," is which is a form of asexual reproduction where an embryo develops from an unfertilized egg, common in invertebrates, plants, and some vertebrates (lizards, sharks, birds) but impossible in mammals due to genetic imprinting.
This "virgin birth" allows females to reproduce without males, offering genetic advantages in stable environments but lacking diversity, and can occur naturally (like in aphids, Komodo dragons) or be induced in labs, though it doesn't result in viable human offspring.
The way a virgin birth or parthenogenesis works is through automixis and apomixis.
Automixis is when an egg merges with polar bodies or egg production leftovers, producing offspring that is similar to the mother and usually female, but not being exact clones.
During apomixis, reproductive cells duplicate chromosomes via mitosis, which create offspring that are also exact genetic clones of the parent, common in plants.
They key characteristics of a virgin birth or parthenogenesis includes Asexuality, genetic diversity and obligate vs facultative.
For parthenogenesis no sperm is needed, and the egg is developed directly.
For the genetic diversity, low making populations that are vulnerable to disease, but efficient for passing on genes when mates are scarce.
And for the obligate vs facultative, some species like whiptail lizards only do it or obligate, while others like mayflies and aphids, switch between sexual and asexual reproduction called facultative.
Examples of animals that go through and use parthenogenesis are invertebrates like wasps, ants, bees and aphids.
Vertebrates like reptiles, some birds, certain sharks like hammerhead, blacktip sharks, Komodo dragons and whiptail lizards.
Although mammals cannot reproduce this way through parthenogenesis, due to genetic imprinting, where specific genes from both parents are required for proper development, which leads to inviable offspring, although tumors can also form from spontaneous activation.