Shark at Chicago aquarium had pups through ‘virgin birth’

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Just in time for Christmas, an aquarium in Chicago heralded a virgin birth.

Instead of mating, a zebra shark used her own genetic material to fertilize two eggs, Shedd Aquarium officials announced this week in a release.

According to a study published in the Journal of Fish Biology, the shark, named Bubbles, reproduced some of her young through “virgin births.”

Bubbles gave birth to the pups in 2008 and through years of genetic testing, authorities were able to confirm she did it without a male shark. Aquarium officials released the details this week, in time for the holidays.

“By confirming the lineage of the offspring, we could more soundly make decisions on future breeding efforts to maintain maximum genetic diversity while supporting the Association of Zoos and Aquarium’s Species Survival Plan for zebra sharks,” said Lise Watson, assistant director of animal operations and habitats at Shedd Aquarium and an author of the study, which focused on the zebra sharks born at that specific aquarium.

The aquariums’ Wild Reef exhibition includes a giant floor-to-ceiling habitat containing a variety of sharks, including Bubbles.

According to the press release, the aquarium started to see success in breeding in 2004.

Ironically, Bubbles had two male shark suitors in the tank with her before she became pregnant. But a 2008 analysis of the DNA of the shark pups showed they didn’t match any of the mature male sharks in the enclosure.

“But they did match the female that laid the eggs,” said Kevin Feldhim, a researcher at Chicago’s Field Museum and the study’s corresponding author.

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“We’ve known for several years that parthenogenesis occurs in animals like sharks, but some aspects of it remain unknown, like why it occurs and what triggers it,” Feldhim said. “This latest paper is just another step in learning why these ‘virgin births’ happen.”

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