Shark gives "virgin birth"

From ANI Washington, Oct 11: Scientists have used DNA testing to verify that a female blacktip shark in Virginia, US, fertilized her own egg without mating with a male shark, a process which has been dubbed as "virgin birth". According to a report in National Geographic News, this is the second time scientists have used DNA testing to verify shark parthenogenesis - the process that allows females of some species to produce offspring without sperm. The female shark, dubbed Tidbit, died during a routine physical exam before the pregnancy was identified. A necropsy - an animal autopsy - after her death revealed she was carrying a near-term pup fetus that was about 12 inches (30 centimeters) in length. Tidbit was caught in the wild when she was very young and reached sexual maturity in a tank at the Virginia Aquarium in Virginia... [read full story]