No need for dad: Female shark reproduces without sex

0 Comments | AFP, May, 2007

BELFAST (AFP) — A female hammerhead shark that gave birth without sex has put the bite into conventional wisdom about reproduction among large vertebrates, according to research published Wednesday.

The shark's offspring has no paternal DNA, bemused experts from Northern Ireland and the United States report.

The discovery is the first known case of asexual reproduction in sharks but it also raises concerns about the genetic health of dwindling shark populations, they say.

The investigation was launched after an unexpected birth in an aquarium at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Nebraska in December 2001.

The baby's arrival baffled staff, as none of the three possible mother hammerheads in the tank had been exposed to any male hammerhead for the past three...