A STINGRAY hailed for its miraculous solo pregnancy may have conceived four pups with a shark, it has been revealed.
Last week, the Aquarium & Shark Lab by Team Ecco, based in South Carolina, was rocked by the discovery that its stringray Charlotte was pregnant in a tank with no males.
A possible explanation is that Charlotte mated with one of the young sharks[/caption]
DNA testing will be completed once Charlotte gives birth[/caption]
In a Facebook post, the aquarium wrote: “Our stingray, Charlotte, is expecting!
“We have held this close to our hearts for over three months.
“We have ultrasound images confirmed by two supporters: Dr. Robert Jones, the Aquarium Zvet out of Australia, and Becka Campbell, PhD candidate at Arizona State Univ.
“The really amazing thing is we have no male ray! We do have a couple of possible reasons For this event.”
The pregnancy has been deemed “a once-in-a-lifetime science mystery”, by the aquarium.
We’re waiting for Jeff Goldblum to show up because we are Jurassic Park right now!
Brenda Ramer, executive director of Team Ecco
One explanation behind the mystery is that Charlotte the stingray, who is due to give birth any day now, may have reproduced on her own.
But another possible explanation is that Charlotte mated with one of the young sharks, according to Brenda Ramer, executive director of Team Ecco.
“In mid-July 2023, we moved two one-year-old white spot bamboo males (sharks) into that tank,” Ramer told ABC 13 News.
“There was nothing we could find definitively about their maturation rate, so we did not think there would be an issue.
“We started to notice bite marks on Charlotte, but saw other fish nipping at her, so we moved fish, but the biting continued.”
What could a hybrid look like?
It's not yet entirely clear what a stingray-shark hybrid would look like, because it has never been scientifically documented.
The Ecco team have also refrained from making any assumptions until they have completed a DNA test to confirm the babies are true hybrids and not a result of Parthenogenesis.
Hybrids are possible between two genetically similar species, that have not long diverged.
And sharks and stingrays are closely related taxonomically.
They belong to a group of fishes called the elasmobranchs.
Neither species have bones, and instead have a cartilaginous skeletal structure.
Therefore, interbreeding between Charlotte the stingray and a bamboo shark is theoretically possible.
Speaking about the stingray and her future babies, Ms Ramer added: “We’re either going to have partho babies or we’re going to have some kind of a potential mixed breed, and we’re waiting for Jeff Goldblum to show up because we are Jurassic Park right now!”
Partho babies refer to Parthenogenesis, a natural form of asexual reproduction in which an embryo can grow without a mate.
DNA testing will be completed once Charlotte gives birth.
As people commented on the discovery, staff released another statement onto their Facebook page, saying: “With all of the interest and chaos surrounding Charlotte, I am going to ask that you please do not use our platform for wonder and research to make a personal stand or comments to prove yourself and your knowledge to other readers.
“Just because something has not happened or has not been documented does not make it impossible. Science is discovery.”
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