Virgin births? We only think of one, don't we? Here's the story of a stingray's virgin pregnancy,
"Scientists think the pregnancy of Charlotte, a stingray living in a tank without any male rays, is an example of parthenogenesis, a miracle of life more common than most people think.
"Speculation about the stingray has racked up more than 12 million views for a TikToker. The talk show host Jimmy Kimmel weighed in on Charlotte’s apparent immaculate conception with a segment about the ray, which resides at the Aquarium & Shark Lab, in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
There was speculation that the shark did it. But that was dismissed as they are far apart genetically - 350 million years apart. Shark scientists were shocked by such an idea.
"Feldheim said he’s counted 15 species of elasmobranchs where parthenogenesis has been observed by scientists since then.
The phenomenon has been observed in every class of animals, except for mammals, which have a mechanism that prevents parthenogenesis."
"Burns said it’s possible parthenogenesis is a response to environment feedback. It’s also possible it’s just a happy fluke of cell division and a reminder of how life can bring gifts of random chance and little explanation. "
