A female blacktip shark at the Virginia Aquarium & Marione Sphere Center recently passed away, and, upon necropsy, was discovered to be with shark puppy -- in the face no male sharks being present for 8 years! Virgin birth has been proven in some bony fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds, and has been suspected among sharks in the flighty. The scientists who studied the Virginia and Nebraska sharks said the newly formed pups acquired one set of chromosomes when the nurse's chromosomes split during egg development, then united anew. Absent the chromosomes acquaint with in the male sperm, the offspring of an asexual conception have reduced genetic dissimilitude and, the scientists said, may be at a disadvantage for surviving in the wild. A pup, for instance, can be more susceptible to congenital disorders and diseases. Brace positive that when a woman wants to get pregnant -- no matter how often you dunk your balls in hot coffee -- she's gonna do it. Scientists endorse shark's 'virgin birth' [msnbc] Thanks to Heather and Abe, who both claim there was a dinosaur in Jurassic park that did the same aspect. But they're wrong -- it was me!

Source: Geekologie - Gadgets, Gizmos, and Awesome

USA Today reports:

Scientists have confirmed the wink case of a “virgin birth” in a shark.

In a study reported Friday…scientists said DNA testing proved that a pup carried by a female Atlantic blacktip shark in the Virginia Aquarium & Ocean-going Science Center contained no genetic material from a male.

The first documented took place of asexual reproduction, or parthenogenesis, among sharks involved a pup born to a hammerhead at an Omaha zoo.  “This first suit was no fluke,” Demian Chapman, a shark scientist and lead author of the split second study, said in a statement. “It is quite possible that this is something female sharks of many species can do on provocation.”

The aquarium sharks that reproduced without mates each carried only one pup, while some shark species can produce litters numbering in the dozen or more.

In May 2007, the 5-foot, 94-bray shark died of stress-related complications related to her unknown pregnancy after undergoing a perennial checkup. The 10-inch shark pup was found during a necropsy of [the mother], surprising aquarium officials.  No virile blacktip sharks were present during her eight years at the aquarium.

Virgin birth has been proven in some bony fish, amphibians, reptiles and birds, and has been suspected among sharks in the odd. The scientists who studied the Virginia and Nebraska sharks said the newly formed pups acquired one set of chromosomes when the nurturer’s chromosomes split during egg development, then united anew.

The DNA fingerprinting techniques adapted to by the scientists are identical to those used in human paternity testing.

-ACR

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