A pregnant stingray with no male companion now has a ‘reproductive disease,’ aquarium says

A North Carolina aquarium said in February that a stingray became pregnant with no male companion in its tank and now says the fish has a rare reproductive disease. Thursday’s statement from the Aquarium and Shark Lab in Hendersonville did not say what the disease is. It also did not comment on the status of the stingray’s pregnancy. The pregnancy was thought to be the result of a type of asexual reproduction called parthenogenesis. That’s when offspring develop from unfertilized eggs and without any genetic contribution from a male. The phenomenon can occur in some fish, birds and reptiles. A North Carolina aquarium said in February that a stingray became pregnant with no male companion in its tank and now says the fish has a rare reproductive disease. Thursday’s statement from the Aquarium and Shark Lab in Hendersonville did not say what the disease is. It also did not comment on the status of the stingray’s pregnancy. The pregnancy was thought to be the result of a type of asexual reproduction called parthenogenesis. That’s when offspring develop from unfertilized eggs and without any genetic contribution from a male. The phenomenon can occur in some fish, birds and reptiles.  AP Technology and Science