Researchers report ‘virgin birth’ in shark
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Female sharks can fertilize their own eggs and give birth without sperm from males, according to a study published Wednesday in the British journal Biology Letters.
The joint Northern Ireland-U.S. research analyzed the DNA of a shark born in 2001 at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha.
Analysis of the baby shark’s DNA found no trace of any chromosomal contribution from a male. Shark experts said this was the first confirmed case in a shark of parthenogenesis, or “virgin birth.”
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