A leopard shark in a Queensland, Australia, aquarium has made history with a ‘virgin birth’ that scientists say could help save her endangered species.
Leonie the leopard shark is the first shark recorded to change from sexual to asexual reproduction, according to a press release from the University of Queensland.
Sharks can reproduce without a mating partner, according to Christine Dudgeon of the University of Queensland’s School of Biomedical Sciences, who documented Leonie’s changes at the Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Queensland. None with a recorded sexual mating history, however, have ever made the change to asexual reproduction, she said.
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