Shark Gives Rare 'Virgin Birth' to Three Pups
A leopard shark in an aquarium in Australia surprises its keepers with the rare phenomenon.
As Ian Malcolm famously said, "life finds a way."
Aquarium keepers in Australia realized that this week, after a captive zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum) gave birth to three pups—without having had any contact with a male for years. (Zebra sharks are often called leopard sharks in Australia, but they are a different species from the leopard sharks found off the west coast of North America.)
The 20-something shark at Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium in Townsville laid 41 eggs without a father. Three of them hatched into healthy pups, all female.
The pups were named Cleo, CC, and Gemini. Their mother is called Leonie.
Although this phenomenon of "virgin birth" is quite rare, it's not unheard of in sharks. Virgin births
