Shark Virgin Birth Confirmed

[ThePhoenix]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081010-shark-virgin-birth-2.html

A female blacktip shark in Virginia fertilized her own egg without mating with a male shark, new DNA evidence shows.

This is the second time scientists have used DNA testing to verify shark parthenogenesis—the process that allows females of some species to produce offspring without sperm.

The female shark, dubbed Tidbit, died during a routine physical exam before the pregnancy was identified.

A necropsy—an animal autopsy—after her death revealed she was carrying a near-term pup fetus that was about 12 inches (30 centimeters) in length.

Tidbit was caught in the wild when she was very young and reached sexual maturity in a tank at the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia Beach, where she lived for eight years.

"The interesting thing about that was there were no male blacktip sharks in the tank for the entire time of her captivity," said Demian Chapman, a researcher with the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University in New York.

[dchill]

1. Jesus.

:hi:

[Kittycat]

4. Evolution

Mother Nature always finds a way.

[endthewar]

13. Reminds me of Jurassic Park

[liberalmuse]

7. No, Jawsus!

"Who Would Jawsus Eat?"

[Dr.Phool]

9. SARACUDA!!!!

WE.RE SAVED!!!

[TACstrat]

2. Palin's family could use this info to their advantage

[Hand]

6. HAR HAR HAR!

Good one! And welcome to DU, TACstrat--I don't think you'll have any trouble fitting in! :rofl:

[TACstrat]

8. Thanks for the welcome. Nice group of people.

[NCDem60]

3. Not another holiday!

[sharesunited]

5. Was this a fluke? (No, it was a shark.)

[underpants]

10. Kick

I duped this. My bad.

[Tutonic]

11. OK, but were there other male sharks in the tank with her?

Sounds incredible.

[snake in the grass]

12. In my opinion, sharks are...

...the pinnacle of evolution. For 400 million years they have survived and, for this, I have always felt humbled by them.





Absolutely awesome!

[Recursion]

14. Oh, great. Shark Jesus is here. Now we're all fucked. NT