Captive shark had 'virgin birth'

Has the sharken messiah cometh?

Female hammerhead sharks can reproduce without having sex, scientists confirm.
The evidence comes from a shark at Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska which gave birth to a pup in 2001 despite having had no contact with a male.

Genetic tests by a team from Belfast, Nebraska and Florida prove conclusively the young animal possessed no paternal DNA, Biology Letters journal reports.

news.bbc.co.uk...

Wow. I've heard of fish changing their gender to ensure reproduction but this is nuts.

I can picture bio-engineers and animal breeders around the world getting all sorts of ideas about this...

[edit on 23-5-2007 by IgnoranceIsntBlisss]

Earlier discussion here:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Please contribute to the earlier discussion.


Thread closed.