Now this is an interesting development! Two female zebra sharks, located at the Vinpearland Park Nha Trang, laid eggs without the need for male sharks! After a long wait of 5 months of incubating the eggs, the very first unisex baby shark was born!

Zebra Shark Pup

The tank where the two female sharks have made their home for the past year has no male sharks in it. However, the first female shark, much to the surprise of the keepers, laid her eggs and a baby shark was born near the end of June.

The Oceanography Institute researchers in Nha Trang have explained that this is a very rare occurrence in nature and this is the very first time that a unisex shark has made an appearance in Vietnam. Not to be outdone by her tank partner, the second female shark laid close to a dozen eggs, of which over half of them didn’t have citellus. The others with citellus can actually develop embryos, and, with great excitement, the scientists at the Vinpearland Park are incubating these eggs to see what develops.

An expert at the Oceanography Institute has shed some light on the aspects of asexual reproduction. They explained that asexual reproduction occurs when the eggs develop an embryo without any interaction, or contact with sperm from a male. This is rather common in the insect world, however it is extremely rare is fish and reptile species, and has never been seen before in any kind of mammal. “Until now sharks have not been listed as animals with asexual reproduction. This phenomenon has only been recorded once in the US and only a few times around the word. We need to perform a DNA test to verify what happened,” the scientist continued.