Virgin Birth by Shark

Scientist have found a case of a birth by a Shark
without having sex with male. This is the second ever case of Virgin Birth in a Shark. This has proved that female sharks have a capability by which they can reproduced without mating.

Team Of Scientist

The team of scientist that carried out this research consists of Dr. Demian Chapman , shark scientist with the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University, Beth Firchau, Curator of Fishes for the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, and Dr. Mahmood Shivji, Director of the Guy Harvey Research Institute and Professor at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

They have proven that offspring of a female blacktip shark named Tidbit contained no genetic material in its DNA from a father. Tidbit is in Virginia Aquarium in Norfolk Canyon Aquarium for eight years since shortly after her birth in the wild.

First Reporting of Virgin Birth

Chapman and Shivji were a part of team that reported a virgin birth in a female shark in May 2007. That shark at Omaha, Nebraska zoo had not been in contact with male shark for atleast 3 years. This news captured global media and scientific attention, when it was published in journal Biology Letters.

Parthenogenesis

Parthenogenesis is the technique used for DNA fingerprinting in human paternity testing. The same technique was used to prove both cases of Virgin Birth in sharks.

Scientific Point of View

According to Chapman, "Sharks' ability to reproduce alone should not be viewed as an adequate replacement for normal sexual reproduction". The Blacktip and Hammerhead sharks that reproduced without mating both only produced one pup, rather than an entire litter. Shark litters normally contains few to more than a hundred shark pups, depending upon the species.
This case can't stop us worrying from decreasing of shark population due to overfishing.

According to Chapman, "It is very unlikely that a small number of female survivors could build their numbers up very quickly by undergoing virgin birth."