It's believed that asexual reproduction is more likely to happen in a tank where there are only females, and Aqua World Oarai's zebra shark is the third case of parthenogenesis in the world that occurred for a fish kept in the same tank as a male. Credit: Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez Asexual reproduction is prevalent among animals such as starfish, deep-sea worms, and stick insects, but it is a rarity among vertebrates. Tokunaga says parthenogenesis can occur in sharks when small cells known as "polar bodies" produced during meiosis of the base cells for the egg play the role of sperm. An adult zebra shark at Shedd Aquarium’s Wild Reef exhibit. Zebra sharks are sluggish during the day possibly because they are nocturnal animals. To breathe, many sharks must swim to force oxygenated water over their. Scientists were surprised she had survived, as her coloring would make her more vulnerable to predators. She had a grayish tail, but was otherwise uniformly white without the usual dark spots seen on adults. They have small eyes with large spiracles. Adults can reach a maximum length of 354 cm and live over 28 years in aquariums. An albino zebra shark was discovered in 1973 in the Indian Ocean. A DNA test confirmed that the baby shark was produced through parthenogenesis. Adult zebra sharks have five longitudinal ridges on its cylindrical body, a low caudal fin that comprises nearly half of its total length and dark spots along a pale background. While eggs that are produced via parthenogenesis are less likely to hatch compared to those that go through a regular breeding process, the aquarium successfully hatched the egg by maintaining the water temperature at 26-27 degrees Celsius while adding fresh, cold seawater. Unable to confirm mating between the two, the aquarium suspected that it could be a case of asexual reproduction. Adults have a cylindrical body with a broad head and small mouth. Juvenile zebra sharks inhabit deeper waters than adults seeking depths of 50 m (165 ft) to hide from predators. The black-and-white striped pattern unique to young zebra sharks is only visible for about a year, and it's expected to change to a brown-dotted pattern as the fish grows.Īccording to Kotaro Tokunaga, who is in charge of the sharks at the facility, the female zebra shark laid an egg in the fall of 2022 while being kept with a male fish. There is an unconfirmed report of a zebra shark living in fresh water in the Philippines. It has been on display as part of the fifth-floor exhibition at the aquarium since March 4. It grows to at least 2.35m and has a caudal fin (tail) almost as long as the rest of its body. An adult zebra shark with a leopard pattern. When young, the Zebra Shark looks like a zebra, but when it gets older it is patterned like a leopard.
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