Charlotte the pregnant ‘virgin’ stingray revealed to have illness as officers give tragic replace on delivery saga | EUROtoday

For free actual time breaking information alerts despatched straight to your inbox signal as much as our breaking information emails

Sign as much as our free breaking information emails

A stingray thought to have change into pregnant and not using a male companion has a uncommon reproductive illness and should not be capable of give delivery, the aquarium housing the fish has mentioned.

Thursday’s assertion from the Aquarium and Shark Lab in Hendersonville, North Carolina, didn’t say what illness the stingray, Charlotte, has or touch upon the standing of her being pregnant.

The aquarium didn’t instantly reply to an e-mail from The Associated Press searching for extra info.

“Charlotte has developed a rare reproductive disease that has negatively impacted her reproductive system,” the aquarium said. “The findings are truly a sad and unexpected medical development. Our priority is to focus on Charlotte’s health and well being.”

The aquarium within the Blue Ridge Mountains had introduced Charlotte’s being pregnant in February, stating that she hadn’t shared a tank with a male of her species in a minimum of eight years.

The aquarium mentioned on the time that she was pregnant with as many as 4 pups and will give delivery inside two weeks.

The being pregnant was regarded as the results of a sort of asexual copy known as parthenogenesis, wherein offspring develop from unfertilized eggs, which means there is no such thing as a genetic contribution by a male.

The largely uncommon phenomenon can happen in some bugs, fish, amphibians, birds and reptiles, however not in mammals. Documented examples have included California condors, Komodo dragons and yellow-bellied water snakes.

The being pregnant had been deemed “a once-in-a-lifetime science mystery” by the aquarium.

The aquarium mentioned there are two methods wherein Charlotte might have change into pregnant. One is a uncommon course of known as parthenogenesis, wherein the eggs develop on their very own with out fertilisation and create a clone of the mom.

The second potential rationalization for the being pregnant is Charlotte might have mated with one of many younger sharks, in keeping with Brenda Ramer, government director of Team Ecco.