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Shark Born Without Male Help

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 10, 2008

RICHMOND, Va. - Scientists have confirmed the second case of a "virgin birth" in a shark.

In a study reported in the Journal of Fish Biology, scientists said DNA testing proved that a pup carried by a female Atlantic blacktip shark in the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center contained no genetic material from a male. No male blacktip sharks were present during her eight years at the aquarium.

The first documented case of asexual reproduction, or parthenogenesis, among sharks involved a pup born to a hammerhead at an Omaha, Neb., zoo.

"This first case was no fluke," said Demian Chapman, lead author of the second study. "It is quite possible that this is something female sharks of many species can do on occasion."

The aquarium sharks that reproduced without mates each carried only one pup; some shark species can produce litters of a dozen or more.

The Associated Press

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