The basics of biology tell us that for two animals to reproduce, you need a male and female counterpart, in most of the cases. However, in what could be the first form of asexual reproduction in smoothhound sharks, a ‘miracle’ baby was born in a tank where only two female sharks lived for the past decade. There’s no record of the presence of any male in the tank for over 10 years now and this miracle baby birth has thrown up a new scientific puzzle to decode.
According to a local Italian media outlet AGI, the staff members of the Acquario Cala Gonone in Sardinia, Italy, where this female shark baby was born have named the newborn, Ispera. The shark is believed to be the result of parthenogenesis reproduction — an asexual reproduction process where the egg can develop into an embryo without fertilisation by sperm. Experts suggest that the baby shark could be a clone of its mother. To confirm this hypothesis, DNA sample of the baby shark and the two females living in the aquarium has been sent to labs for testing.
Parthenogenesis reproduction results in a clone of the parent because the embryo receives genetic material from one individual only. A common type of reproduction in the process happens when the egg is fertilized by a still immature egg that behaves almost like a sperm.
Reproduction using this process happens rarely in females with little prospects of finding a mate due to low population density. However, in the case of invertebrates such as worms, insects, parthenogenesis reproduction is relatively common. In invertebrates like lizards and fishes, the process is rarely observed.
So far, instances of self-cloning births have been recorded in a few shark species — blacktip shark, zebra shark and the bonnethead. If the test reports confirms the same in the case of Ispera, smoothhound sharks will be the fourth species to joining the list.
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