The Immaculate Conception of the Asexual Shark
This has resulted in the first reported case of parthenogenesis, which is a word meaning virgin birth in sharks. Although asexuality is common within insects, and some reptiles there has been no recorded case of asexuality within mammals. This is remarkable because sharks were not considered to be asexual before this occurrence.
The pup could be the potential offspring of one of three mothers that were kept in the tank - interestingly enough, none of those females had contact with a male shark for three years prior. Although female sharks are indeed equipped with an organ that is capable of sperm storage, it cannot be stored to the extent of three years.
This hammerhead pup was borne in a tank within a US Zoo in 2001 - but unfortunately the pup was killed within hours of its birth by a stingray. Upon exam, there was no outside male contribution of chromosomes in the pup. This was fascinating - there was no parental contribution to create this pup, thereby an instance of the first offspring of an asexual shark!
Is this a sign of an evolution in the species? A case of Darwin's survival of the species? Genetic diversity could cause the sharks to adapt and evolve and become asexual and could be the saving grace of the shark species. If these populations are threatened than they will become able to create changes in the way that the species reproduces.
A theory is that the female sharks may have adapted because of the lack of male partners due to the declining shark population over the past twelve years. As well, there is a lower ratio of males to females of sharks that are kept in captivity. In some areas shark populations are decreasing more than ninety percent. This is a viable cause to the increasing diversity within the population therefore the ability to become asexual.
Are sharks on the verge of extinction or is this the short term solution that evolution has provided sharks with? Over time, if the population continues to rise than we can only hypothesize that asexuality will become more common. Could sharks be the only mammals that are able to adapt asexuality into their reproduction? Only time will tell.
Published by Lana Somers
My mind is always working and I am always watching, listening and absorbing. View profile
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19 Comments
Post a Commentwho ever said sharks are mammals are crazy!!!!!!!!
Sharks arent mammals you poo head
wow...how on earth did this get past the editor?...you should watch the show "Are you smarter than a fifth grader?"...i have a feeling you'd fail the science portion...sharks aren't mammals
Wow...sharks aren't mammals. I think that has already been mentioned. *shakes head*
This is an extremely interesting article, but may I point out that sharks are not mammals but indeed fish. Whales and dolphins come in the catogory of marine mammal.
i would like to see more eddie money media and what is is birthday ?
Hi, Mommy2lots. This article is actually not especially well-written. Also, the mistakes I mentioned are by no means minor. We are told "Asexuality is uncommon in mammals..." and then that "This pup. . . is indeed the first asexual offspring of not only of a shark, but of a mammal." Bad information, conflicting information, and "inventive" grammar. It's a package deal. I'd just like to see more people here who write because they are interested in and knowledgeable about the subject matter, rather than just trying to produce as many articles as possible.
nice read!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I sometimes wish humans had this function because then I could have children by myself!
This is well-written, even with the minor mistakes mentioned in the comments below. I also wrote a piece on this. Congrats on being featured. :-)