Ispera, a smoothhound shark, was born in 2021 at a Sardinian aquarium from a mother who had only lived with other females for a decade.
Ispera's birth suggests that parthenogenesis, a type of asexual reproduction where an embryo develops from an unfertilized egg cell that doubles its own chromosome count, may have taken place.
Many sexual vertebrate species, including pythons, turkeys, Komodo dragons, and sharks, have been found to reproduce this way occasionally.
The extent of fatherless creatures resulting from parthenogenesis is unknown, as it is challenging to track without genetic analyses of populations.
Vocabulary:
• To Undergo
To experience something that is unpleasant or something that involves a change.
• To Slither
To move by twisting or sliding.