Omaha, NE

Did you all hear about the female hammerhead shark that gave birth back in 2001, causing tons of questions to the scientists over at the Henry Doorly Zoo? They had kept her separate from all the male sharks of her species, and so were wondering how the hell a baby shark was made. Well, they’ve figured it out.

This amazing shark had a birth scientists call parthenogenesis, or “virgin birth”. It’s when female DNA combines to produce an egg. While it’s been known to happen in other amphibians and reptiles, no one has ever shown documented proof it happened in sharks. Until now.

The baby that was Jesus-style created is not alive, however, having been killed by another fish shortly after birth. Which may or may not be saying something about what males of a species think of women doing this sort of thing on their own. In any case, the scientists are going to be looking further into the possibility this sort of thing is possible in other types of sharks. It’s only a matter of time before they move on to mammals.

Omaha, Henry Doorly Zoo, hammerhead shark, parthenogenesis, virgin birth, DNA