Is a Stingray Pregnant by a Shark? Marine Biologist Explains!

#shark #stingray #kpassionate
UPDATE: Charlotte the stingray has sadly passed away at the aquarium where she lived in North Carolina. Turns out, she was not pregnant and instead had a rare reproductive disease. Charlotte was presumed to be 12-16 years old, which is quite old for round stingrays who typically live between 10-12 years in the wild.

00:00 - Can a Shark Get a Stingray Pregnant?
00:40 - Charlotte the Stingray
01:39 - Stingray Pregnant by Shark
02:52 - Can Stingrays Impregnate Themselves?
03:42 - Parthenogenesis
04:24 - KPassionate

Many have pointed out that sharks and rays are closely related. They are all cartilaginous fish in the Elasmobranch subclass. Since they’re closely related… can they interbreed? Could Larry or Moe be the father of Charlotte’s litter? The answer is no. And not an “unlikely” or “probably not” kind of soft no that leaves the door open to speculation. It’s a hard no. A slam the door shut, lock it, and throw away the key kind of no.

Yes, sharks and rays are closely related. About as closely related as walruses are to red pandas. Or sea otters are to polar bears. They are in the same subclass but they’re in different orders, families, genus, and species. It would be just as impossible for a round stingray and a bamboo shark to mate as it would be for a walrus and a red panda. Their anatomy simply does not match up and neither does their DNA. They even have different methods of reproduction. Round stingrays are viviparous, meaning they give live birth, while bamboo sharks are oviparous which means they lay eggs.

But if Larry and Moe aren’t the fathers… Who is? The answer is no one. Charlotte became pregnant through a form of asexual reproduction known as parthenogenesis… which is Greek for “Virgin Creation.” This is when embryos develop directly from an egg without any male fertilization. Parthenogenesis is a really cool phenomenon that occurs naturally in some species. Including bees, scorpions, and other invertebrates. As well as reptiles like snakes and Komodo dragons. And, of course, it’s been documented in fish like hammerhead sharks, blacktip sharks, and even whitespotted bamboo sharks like Larry and Moe.

There are even some animals who reproduce exclusively through asexual means like parthenogenesis. Examples include salamanders and geckos.

Parthenogenesis has been documented in over 80 other species. But this is the first time it’s been recorded in round stingrays like Charlotte. And honestly… it’s a shame that we’re not really talking about it. Instead, we’re talking about pseudoscience and shark-ray hybrid nonsense.

Cited Sources

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Additional Imagery
Tennessee Aquarium
Clint Reynolds

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[KPassionate]

UPDATE: Charlotte the stingray has sadly passed away at the aquarium where she lived in North Carolina. Turns out, she was not pregnant and instead had a rare reproductive disease. Charlotte was presumed to be 12-16 years old, which is quite old for round stingrays who typically live between 10-12 years in the wild.

[evilsharkey]

Sharks and rays haven’t shared a common ancestor since the Triassic, so the likelihood that a shark is the father is about as high as the likelihood a walrus is the father.

[kj_wine]

It’s wild! I wonder if this occurs regularly in her species but we just assume it’s pregnancy due to fertilisation by the males.

[valstarkgraf]

So *checks notes* walruses and red pandas are the next mashup? Like "The Wuzzles"????

[AquaFox]

I've commented on these silly posts about this! Thanks for the backup, there's far too much click baiting going on. I'm also a biologist so very happy to see another pro shutting this down

[kylieellway]

I saw the story on a news channel where they said both parthenogenesis and theory of the "sharkray" were possible. It didn't seem right to me so was hoping for an explanation from you.

[southron_d]

I just found out about Charlotte about 10 minutes before your video showed up. I immediately realised it would be parthenogenesis. I hadn't heard about people's nonsensical ideas of impossible hybrids, though. Just not plugged into an array of social media platforms.

Charlotte and her companions are lovely animals.

[ncwordman]

Thank you, KP. I always learn so much from you. As a physics major, one thing I learned right away is that science is so much cooler than uneducated guesses people make. Science is so weird and shocking. You can choose any field, any single thing within that field, and learn some freaky, weird, fun stuff. Just pick anything at random, and go read about it.

[AndyFromBeaverton]

I have heard of animals that can delay pregnancy for long periods after mating until environmental conditions are suitable for gestation and birth. Maybe someone can recall these animals?

[JungleJordan]

HARD NO! lol I love it! Thanks for helping the people understand

[haggielady]

From the bottom of my heart Thank You!
The hard NO to interbreeding was needed.

[karenpowell]

Thanks for another informative video, KP! Rays look so graceful when they're swimming. They're on my endless favorites list. 🙂

[LB-geih]

It’s funny, because even though it is a so much more obvious possibility, people have a hard time even “conceiving” of parthenogenesis . I think the traditional human binary view makes it difficult for people (especially men) to comprehend procreation without the involvement of males/sex.

[batacumba]

So annoying how there is an easy explanation but the media dummies just ran with clickbait ridiculousness instead. Thanks for setting the record straight yet again.

[insanity]

I don’t believe you, I’ve seen people breed that I’m sure are in different kingdoms.







😂😂😂

[alexacarrillo]

When I saw this story I was sure it was between retained sperm and parthenogenesis so I was excited to see if we had a new record on the sperm thing but I was disturbed that they said she had signs that the sharks were trying to mate with her and not doing anything to stop it. I volunteer at a bunny shelter and we don’t let the unfixed male bunnies in with the fixed females because they will try to mate and it is distressing to the females so why would they let the male sharks keep distressing her is beyond me.

[bookfaerie]

Thank you for this. The aquarium owner put the nonsense about the sharks possibly being the dad out there when she announced that Charlotte was pregnant (along with the possibility of parthenogenesis). I live near the aquarium, and she went on the local news to talk about it. The possibility of a hybrid makes for a good story, and gets a lot more attention.

[tidela]

All it takes is basic biology knowledge to know that the shark/ray thing was NOT possible 🤣

[LordMondegrene]

Parthenogenesis is fairly common in lower life forms.
Komodo Dragons, whiptail lizards, insects, fish, it's a useful survival strategy.

[CC-hhds]

So parthenogenesis? Fascinating! Occurrences like these must drive religions absolutely crazy… will Charlotte’s babies be gods?? 😂🤦🏻‍♂️