A ray in Australia has just given birth . That might not vocalise all that exciting , but it turn out she has n’t been anywhere near a manly ray for over nine years .
Freckle is an bird of Jove ray – thinkMr RayfromFinding Nemo – and lives at Australia ’s Sea Life Sydney Aquarium , where she is one of the main attractive force thanks to the brilliant lily-white spots on her back and extension - like fins .
So how did she get pregnant ?
Well , she really used a method acting called parthenogenesis ( literally meaning “ virgin origin ” in ancient Greek ) , a process that ’s pretty rarified in the animal kingdom . Parthenogenesis affect an embryo developing without the demand of sperm from a male person to fertilise it .
Some animals like homo , andall other mammalsfor that topic , need a male and a female person to reproduce . Others , likewhiptail lounge lizard , are asexual and can regurgitate solo . But sure creatures , likesawfish , snakes , andsharks , can do it both ways . It provides the opportunity to reproduce when there ’s a lack of males around . However , the resulting offspring are less genetically diverse than their sexually produced counterparts , which can interfere with health .
“ It is a rare occurrence among craniate such as Eagle Rays – so this is a very special comer for Sea Life Sydney Aquarium , ” say Adam Stowe , an associate prof at Macquarie University , in astatement .
Back in early June , the fish tank ’s ray squad notice some changes to Freckle . Her belly was uprise , she was pass off and swim quicker , her appetite had increase , and she was less inclined to participate in training sessions , which suggest she might be protecting something . However , the aquarists originally assumed she could n’t be fraught as there was no male eagle beam of light in her tank .
But a few weeks later , suspicions were confirmed .
“ On 26th July , when I came in to check the Dugong Island tank where Freckle subsist , she float over the tunnel and there was no belly!”saidsenior aquarist and ray trainer Libby Eyre . “ I quickly found the bub and there were screams of excitement from the stave – everyone was amazed at the physical process of having produced a little shaft with no males in the cooler ! We ’re now proudly home to a very uncommon little baby bird of Jove ray . ”
Freckle ’s new girl is named Ani , short for Anakin , after Anakin Skywalker – aka Darth Vader – as he also had no father .
Four - workweek - old Ani is healthy and is being intimately monitored by the team . She is still too young to be put on display but the aquarists desire to stick in her to one of their oceanariums in the futurity . For now , she is " swimming , eating , and shew the habits of a happy and goodish babe eagle ray – who loves feeding mussels and pilchard fillets . "
