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Mystery of ‘virgin birth’: Newborn shark in all-female tank baffles experts
Marine experts were baffled by the birth of a baby shark in a US aquarium without a male presence.
The birth of a baby shark at Shreveport aquarium has flummoxed marine experts. The newborn hatched in a tank with no male presence and whose only inhabitants were female sharks. Though the aquarium's animal husbandry team has some thoughts about what went down, they are still unsure about the exact reason.
Shreveport Aquarium posted a video of the shark hatching. “We’re thrilled to announce the hatching of a new swell shark pup—without a male present! Our team determined that the two female sharks residing in the tank had not been in contact with a male in over 3 years,” they wrote.
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What is the reason?
According to the aquarium, it is because of parthenogenesis or delayed fertilisation. “This does suggest that either a phenomenon called parthenogenesis, a rare form of asexual reproduction, or delayed fertilisation, where fertilisation occurs long after mating, may have occurred,” they wrote.
The Louisiana aquarium further informed us that they are closely monitoring the pup named Yoko. DNA testing will soon be conducted on the pup to get “definitive confirmation of whether the hatchling is a product of parthenogenesis or delayed fertilisation.”
What is the meaning of Yoko?
According to the Guardian, the baby shark is named after the the Native American Chumash people’s word for shark, “onyoko.” The aquarium confirmed that the newborn is currently thriving.
Take a look at this sweet video of Yoko:
What did social media say?
“Yoko is everyone's new favourite shark,” an individual wrote. Another added, “Wow! That's neat!” A third posted, “Awww, how cute.”
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“This situation is incredible and shows the resilience of this species,” Greg Barrick, the curator of live animals at Shreveport Aquarium, told the Guardian. “We are very excited in the coming months to confirm whether this was indeed a case of parthenogenesis or if it was delayed fertilisation,” Barrick added.
