'Virgin births' puzzle shark experts
Associated Press
DETROIT -- Experts at a city aquarium are baffled by the unexpected births of three baby sharks to a mother who hasn't been near a male shark in at least six years.
The female whitespotted bamboo shark gave birth at Detroit's Belle Isle Aquarium. The births, often called virgin births, are among the few known at accredited U.S. zoos or aquariums.
Female sharks, like many animals, will lay infertile eggs even if there is no male mate around. The eggs are generally assumed to not be viable and thrown out.
But when the bamboo shark laid a clutch of eggs in late winter, Doug Sweet, curator of fishes at the Detroit aquarium, left them in the tank because he had heard about a bonnethead shark at a Nebraska zoo that had a virgin birth last year.
Sweet kept the eggs in the tank with the female for a while, then moved them to another tank where the first egg hatched in July. It was followed soon by the second, and the third egg hatched last week. Three or four more eggs may hatch in coming weeks, Sweet said.
[Erik says: As if I needed another reason to avoid sharks.]
No comments:
Post a Comment