Rumours of a shark being the father to Charlotte the stingray’s pups weren\u2019t true \u2013 but the real story is even more fascinating… <\/p>
The\u00a0Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team ECCO<\/a>\u00a0recently caused a stir when they announced the pitter patter of tiny fins: Charlotte, their California round stingray, was pregnant with three or four pups even though she hasn’t shared her tank with a male ray for eight years.\u00a0<\/p> Rumours quickly spread. Could the father be Larry or Moe, the two white-spotted bamboo sharks sharing a tank with her? After all, the aquarium team had noticed bite marks on Charlotte. \u201cOh my gosh, sharks bite when they mate,\u201d said Team ECCO\u2019s Brenda Ramer while performing a live\u00a0ultrasound<\/a>\u00a0on Charlotte.\u00a0<\/p> Charlotte was pregnant with three or four pups even though she hasn’t shared her tank with a male ray for eight years.<\/p><\/blockquote> This theory was quickly debunked by experts because, even though sharks and rays are closely related, their DNA is incompatible. <\/p> \u201cThey wouldn’t be able to produce viable pups even if they could mate,\u201d says stingray expert\u00a0Dr Joni Pini-Fitzsimmons<\/a>, research fellow at Charles Darwin University, Northern Territory. \u201cWe can be sure that Charlotte’s sharky tank mates aren’t the fathers and she won’t be pupping any shark-ray hybrids.\u201d\u00a0<\/p> But the real story behind Charlotte’s pregnancy is, perhaps, more fascinating. Experts at the aquarium believe Charlotte impregnated herself through a process called parthenogenesis. This rare form of asexual reproduction allows a female to create viable offspring without her eggs being fertilised and is, essentially, a virgin birth \u2013 the name comes from the Greek \u2018parth\u00e9nos\u2019 (virgin) and \u2018g\u00e9nesis\u2019 (creation).\u00a0<\/p> Pini-Fitzsimmons describes it as a ‘last ditch effort’ for females to pass on their genes when a male isn\u2019t present. In the famous words of Jeff Goldblum\u2019s character in\u00a0Jurassic Park,\u00a0<\/em>she says: \u201clife, uh, finds a way.\u201d<\/p> Parthenogenesis is, essentially, a virgin birth \u2013 the name comes from the Greek \u2018parth\u00e9nos\u2019 (virgin) and \u2018g\u00e9nesis\u2019 (creation).<\/p><\/blockquote> Sharks and rays are the world\u2019s most threatened groups of fishes but this unusual method of reproduction won\u2019t be enough to maintain critically endangered species, she says. The only way to protect these important animals is putting in place comprehensive conservation efforts globally, such as habitat protection and sustainable fishing.\u00a0<\/p> For now, the world is waiting for Charlotte\u2019s very special new arrivals \u2013 this is the first time parthenogenesis has been recorded in this species. It may happen in the wild too but it\u2019s much easier to observe in captive animals, says Pini-Fitzsimmons \u201cbecause when a female ray has been alone for many years and suddenly gives birth, people tend to notice\u201d.\u00a0<\/p> A round stingray (Urobatis halleri<\/em>) is a smallish stingray, usually measuring 20cm to 25cm in length, though they can grow as long as 55cm. They are grayish brown in colour, and can be either plain, mottled or spotted on top, with a pale yellow, orange or white underside.<\/p> The round stingray can be found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, most abundantly south of Point Conception in California. They feed on invertebrates such as stomatopods, shrimp and crabs.<\/p> After a gestation period of approximately three months, round rays may give birth to up to six young (Charlotte is expected to have three or four young), with each newborn measuring up to 8cm wide. <\/p> Main image: round stingray in an aquarium (not Charlotte). Credit: Getty<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n Rumours of a shark being the father to Charlotte the stingray’s pups weren\u2019t true \u2013 but the real story is even more fascinating… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":35989,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/02\/this-stingray-is-about-to-have-a-virgin-birth-scientists-explain-how.jpg",724,483,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/02\/this-stingray-is-about-to-have-a-virgin-birth-scientists-explain-how-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/02\/this-stingray-is-about-to-have-a-virgin-birth-scientists-explain-how-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/02\/this-stingray-is-about-to-have-a-virgin-birth-scientists-explain-how.jpg",724,483,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/02\/this-stingray-is-about-to-have-a-virgin-birth-scientists-explain-how.jpg",724,483,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/02\/this-stingray-is-about-to-have-a-virgin-birth-scientists-explain-how.jpg",724,483,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/02\/this-stingray-is-about-to-have-a-virgin-birth-scientists-explain-how.jpg",724,483,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Rumours of a shark being the father to Charlotte the stingray's pups weren\u2019t true \u2013 but the real story is even more fascinating...","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/35988"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}A ‘virgin birth’<\/h2>
Round stingray facts<\/h2>
","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"