Charlotte, the virgin stingray, who was reportedly earlier to have an immaculate conception, hasn't delivered her babies yet. Experts are already worried that her pups are already dead because her pregnancy was weeks overdue already.
Charlotte The Virgin Stingray Pregnancy Update
Aquarium & Shark Lab in Hendersonville, North Carolina, announced in early February that Charlotte was due "any day now." However, it has been two months since, and she hasn't given birth yet. Dr. Christopher Lowe, a professor of marine biology and director of the Shark Lab at California State University, raised concerns about Charlotte's pregnancy.
According to him, it's "certainly possible" that "the ray may abort or the embryos have died or be resorbed by the female and she will never give birth."
Charlotte reportedly disappeared for nearly two weeks. The outlet noted that the aquarium stopped giving updates about her pregnancy for almost two weeks, despite its initial promise to keep the public up to date by sharing regular updates every Wednesday and Saturday.
However, Charlotte may have returned because the aquarium's most recent update about the pregnant stingray on Instagram was two days ago. The aquarium said there is still no offspring as of April 4, 2024.
Charlotte's pregnancy made headlines because she was pregnant but was a virgin. The news prompted speculations that she had an immaculate conception.
Brenda Ramer, the executive director of the Aquarium and Shark Lab, jokingly claimed that Charlotte's illness was a Valentine's Day surprise and expressed excitement about the expected birth of four pups.
The expert said that Charlotte shared a tank with five small sharks and couldn't have mated with them. Ramer initially joked that Charlotte's pregnancy resulted from possible interspecies hookup. She, however, clarified that it was unlikely the case.
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How Did Charlotte Get Pregnant Without a Male Mate?
Dr. Christopher Lowe, a professor of marine biology and director of the Shark Lab at California State University, discussed Charlotte's case. According to him, stingrays like Charlotte can become pregnant in two ways -- mating and parthenogenesis.
For the first possible reason, there were speculations that a shark impregnated her because she shared a tank with them. However, again, it's unlikely to be the case because of the differences in size and DNA. Charlotte has been on her own for a very long time.
The second one-parthenogenesis. This was a more sound explanation for Charlotte's case.
"It turns out that parthenogenesis is more common in sharks and rays than we previously thought, so this is the most likely explanation," Lowe explained, adding that this can easily be confirmed by doing a quick DNA test if she gives birth to a "viable young."
Although parthenogenesis is not unusual, Charlotte's instance represents the first time the procedure has been reported in her species, making it the 15th species in total, according to Kevin Feldheim, a researcher at Chicago's Field Museum.
According to the aquarium, Charlotte is carrying up to four pups, and the team monitors her condition daily even though there aren't any obvious symptoms yet. However, the team has not been able to verify Charlotte's anticipated delivery date.
According to Lowe, this is most likely due to the uncertainty around when she started generating embryos and whether longer gestation periods are required for parthenogenesis. Round stingrays typically give birth in three to four months, depending on the water temperature, which is a shorter gestation period than that of other species.
Lowe added that the longer certain species were kept captive, the more they learned about anomalies such as Charlotte's case.
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