For the first time ever, scientists in Australia have observed a leopard shark switching from sexual to asexual reproduction, in a move they say could help save her species.
Leonie the shark had previously mated with a male leopard shark at the Reef HQ aquarium in Townsville, a coastal city in Queensland, Australia.
The two sharks were separated after their final mating in 2012 due to space constraints. But in 2016, Leonie hatched three eggs, despite having no mating partner for three seasons.
鈥淲e thought she could be storing sperm but when we tested the pups and the possible parent sharks using DNA fingerprinting, we found they only had cells from Leonie,鈥� Christine Dudgeon of the University of Queensland鈥檚 School of Biomedical Sciences
Although asexual reproduction, known as parthenogenesis, has been observed in other shark species before, it had only occurred in female sharks who had never mated before.
Leonie is the first recorded shark ever to have made the switch from mating to asexual reproduction.
Dudgeon said the breakthrough has 鈥渂ig implications for conservation,鈥� demonstrating the flexibility of the leopard shark鈥檚 reproductive system.
鈥淟eonie adapted to her circumstances and we believe she switched because she lost her mate,鈥� she said in the release. 鈥淲hat we want to know now is could this occur in the wild and, if so, how often does it?鈥�
Parthenogenesis, a process in which embryos develop without fertilization, mainly occurs in plants and invertebrate animals. But it has also been observed in vertebrate species, such as sharks, lizards and snakes.
The Leonie study was published in Authors note that a recent study on a captive eagle ray also showed that separation from a mate could trigger a switch to asexual reproduction. In a separate study, a captive boa constrictor was observed doing the same.
The leopard shark, also known as a zebra shark, is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature鈥檚 . The slender shark, recognizable by its dark spots and patterns, is found in the tropical waters of Pacific and Indian Oceans.
