Now I can not say for sure whether this is an example of evolution, global warming, Chernobyl, or just a good ole fashioned immaculate conception, but scientifically THIS is amazing!!! There are now two examples of aquarium sharks having asexual reproduction.
The first case of this, and I quote "virgin birth", happened at an Omaha Zoo where a hammerhead gave birth to a baby shark. There were no male sharks to inseminate the female. At first this seemed to be an isolated event. It grabbed attention yes, but it may have been slightly blown off as an anomaly or an isolated event.
However, this most recent discovery shows that while this may not be the answer to the sharks' declining population, it still may be the tip of the iceberh of some type of pattern of change for a species that seemed to be evolutionarily unaltered for millions of years. This most recent case occurred in our friend Tidbit, a black tip shark that died last year in a Virginia aqurium. The shark underwent an autopsy since she had died suddenly due to a reaction to the anesthesia during a routine physical exam. During the autopsy vets discovered the embryo of young, black-tip shark amidst gestation. However, there were no male black tip sharks present AT ANY POINT during her life at the aquarium.
Cross-breeding? Evolutionary change? Immaculate conception?
Things that make you go hmmmmmm!
1 comment:
That's crazy!
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