Zebra Shark at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium Had Pups Through Virgin Birth
A study has found a zebra shark at Chicago's Shedd Aquarium reproduced some of her young through "virgin births."
The study, published in the Journal of Fish Biology, focused on the zebra sharks born at the Shedd Aquarium, according to a press release.
The aquarium started to see success in breeding in 2004.
"We also began genetic testing to confirm which of the sharks were the parents of the offspring," Lise Watson, assistant director of animal operations and habitats at Shedd Aquarium, said in the press release.
Watson is one of the authors on the study.
"By confirming the lineage of the offspring, we could more soundly make decisions on future breeding efforts to maintain maximum genetic diversity," Watson said.
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shedd aquarium
Shedd's Wild Reef exhibition includes a massive floor-to-ceiling habitat containing a variety of sharks, including zebra sharks, according to the press release.
What's even weirder about the discovery is that the shark, named Bubbles, according to ABC Chicago, was surrounded by three male sharks she could have chosen as mates.
But in 2008, an analysis of the DNA of Bubbles' shark pups showed they didn't match any of the male sharks in the enclosure.
"But they did match the female that laid the eggs," said Kevin Feldheim, a researcher at Chicago's Field Museum, who is also a co-author on the study.
The process of parthenogenesis is common for animals like starfish, sea worms and stick insects, but among vertebrates, it's rare, according to the press release.
"We've known for several years that parthenogenesis occurs in animals like sharks, but some aspects of it remain unknown, like why it occurs and what triggers it," Feldheim said.
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The team at the Shedd Aquarium was surprised by their findings.
"This news underscored exactly why regular, ongoing genetic testing of offspring is important," Watson said.
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While the discovery is interesting, ultimately, pups born through virgin births don't live long.
And Bubbles' pups only survived a few months.
According to Feldheim, this is the second known case in which sharks have been born by parthenogenesis even when there were healthy mates available. The other instance happened at the Aquarium of the Pacific.
"This discovery throws a wrench in what we thought we knew about how and why parthenogenesis happens, and it illustrates a key aspect of science: we're continually learning," he added.
