NEW MYSTRY - VERGINS BIRTH IN MAMMALS

Amazing fact discovered last wednesday regarding asexual reproduction. It says, a female shark can give birth without the help of the male shark. It is a joint Northern Ireland-U.S. research. In 2001 a shark was born from three potential mother in the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Neb. It's mother had no contact with any male hammerhead for at least three years.


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This is a case of "virgin birth" of shark is assured after it is proved that, there is no presence of chromosomal contribution of male in the DNA of the baby shark. This is the first case where Asexual reproduction occurs in mammals. It is common in insects, and in some other reptiles and fish it is seen rarely.

"The findings were really surprising because as far as anyone knew, all sharks reproduced only sexually by a male and female mating, requiring the embryo to get DNA from both parents for full development, just like in mammals," said marine biologist Paulo Prodahl of Queen's University
of Belfast, Northern Ireland, a co-author of the report.

A marine biologist Paulo Prodahl of Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland added, "The findings were really surprising because as far as anyone knew, all sharks reproduced only sexually by a male and female mating, requiring the embryo to get DNA from both parents for full development, just like in mammals,"


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Bob Hueter, director of the Center for Shark Research at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Fla., thinks , this type of ability of a female shark may comes due to the fact that, they are in the earth longer than any other species. Which interns gears up the evolutionary chain. he is very much excited about the "possibility of a so-called virgin birth in a shark, because sharks have this unusual ability to store sperm for months if not years. So this finding is new and definitely unexpected."