Earlier this class , there was a bit of a mystery at the Aquarium and Shark Lab in Hendersonville , North Carolina , after a stingray appeared to become pregnant despite no manly stingray being present . While an interesting mystery in its own right field , the instance drew extra aid after proffer by the head of the aquarium that the stingray could have beenimpregnated by a shark . After a series of psychometric test , however , the squad has found " truly a distressing and unexpected aesculapian maturation . "

" Our stingray , Charlotte , is expecting ! We have held this closemouthed to our hearts for over 3 months , " Team ECCO , which runs the aquarium , announce onFacebookin February , alongside ultrasound scans . " The really amazing thing [ i]s we have no male ray ! "

There are of course a few options for how a light beam could become pregnant without the comportment of a male person . Some species of ray canstore spermfor by and by consumption , but no male person stingrays have been kept in the cooler with Charlotte at all , Brenda Ramer , founding father and executive director of Team ECCO , toldABC 13 Newsat the time .

However , there were males of another species in there with her , leading to the unlikely claim that a shark could have impregnated her .

" In mid - July 2023 , we move two 1 - year - old white spot bamboo Male ( shark ) into that army tank . There was nothing we could find definitively about their suppuration rate , so we did not imagine there would be an issue , " enunciate Ramer . " We started to notice bite brand on Charlotte , but check other Pisces nipping at her , so we moved fish , but the biting continued . "

During pairing , manlike shark – including bamboo sharks – burn the femalesin society to get into emplacement , suggesting to the team that this might be an account . Hybridsare potential , though in general between two genetically alike mintage that have not long diverged , and there are no document cases of sharks breeding with stingray .

hybrid of species that parted ways long ago have been find , but they are incredibly uncommon . In 2020 , a squad found a crossbreed of an American duckbill and a Russian sturgeon , two species that lastshared an ancestor in the Jurassic epoch .

finally , this estimate was always very improbable .

" I ’m going to stop this misinfo in its tracks , " Dr Noah Bressman , assistant prof of physiology at Salisbury University , explain onBluesky . " Sharks [ and ] rays are as distantly related as humans [ and ] Snake River , so a ophidian knocking up a human is just as likely as a shark knocking up a ray . "

Another idea was propose , though this too would be revealed as incorrect . Rays can reproduce sexually , but in rarer cases , they can develop an embryo without fertilisation . This is known as parthenogeny , a term that stems from the Grecian word for “ virgin birth ” . Birth by this method , though still uncommon , bump every now and then . In fact , one shark at the aquarium has given birth via virgin birth 14 times .

Though it is rarer in irradiation , it was still more likely than a hybrid . However , after a series of tests , the team has found a grimmer account ; the stingray was unwell .

" We rue the postponement of updates regarding Charlotte . This time was necessary to gather information and analyze lab and testing results , " the aquarium wrote onFacebookon May 30 . " The reports show that Charlotte has germinate a rarified reproductive disease that has negatively impacted her reproductive system . The determination are genuinely a sad and unexpected medical development . "

" Our anteriority is to focus on Charlotte ’s wellness and eudaemonia . We will process with , and be guide on by , veterinarian and specialists to better understand this disease and the treatment options for Charlotte , " the squad added , though there was no comment on whether the stingray remain , or was ever , significant .

" While the enquiry of this disease is limited , we desire that Charlotte ’s typeface and medical intervention will positively contribute to skill and be of benefit to other rays in the future . "