Pregnant stingray suspected to be caused by male shark

Team ECCO Aquarium & Shark Lab reported that the stingray was sharing a tank with a male shark and had multiple bite marks on its fins indicating mating behavior.

The female stingray used to live with the male shark in the aquarium. Photo: Independent

The Aquarium & Shark Lab in Hendersonville, North Carolina, is investigating the mysterious pregnancy of a female stingray. Last week, they announced that the stingray named Charlotte was pregnant. The event came as a surprise to aquarium staff because there was no male stingray in the tank with her at the time, Independent reported on February 14.

Charlotte's pregnancy was discovered last September after aquarium staff first noticed her bulging belly and assumed it was cancer. However, aquarium veterinarian Dr Robert Jones later confirmed the ray was carrying three to four eggs via ultrasound.

One possible explanation, according to Robert Jones, the aquarium’s director, is parthenogenesis, a process in which a female creates an embryo asexually without fertilizing the egg with sperm. This is a survival mechanism that allows a species to continue, and often occurs in situations where males are not available, such as in zoos, aquariums, or remote deep-sea environments.

The second explanation for Charlotte’s pregnancy is that she mated with one of the younger sharks, according to Brenda Ramer, executive director of Team Ecco. In mid-July 2023, aquarium staff moved two one-year-old male white-spotted bamboo sharks into the tank. Not knowing their maturity level, they didn’t think there would be any problems. They began to notice bite marks on Charlotte’s fins and speculated that she might have mated with another species.

Ramer said the female stingray is likely to give birth in the near future. DNA testing will be conducted when Charlotte's offspring are born.

An Khang (According to Independent/Business Insider )

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