Parthenogenesis in a large-bodied requiem shark, the blacktip Carcharhinus limbatus Article

Chapman, DD, Firchau, B, Shivji, MS. (2008). Parthenogenesis in a large-bodied requiem shark, the blacktip Carcharhinus limbatus . JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, 73(6), 1473-1477. 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2008.02018.x

cited authors

  • Chapman, DD; Firchau, B; Shivji, MS

authors

abstract

  • Genetic evidence is provided for parthenogenesis in a large-bodied shark, the blacktip Carcharhinus limbatus, from the speciose and commercially important family Carcharhinidae, the first verified case of asexual development in this lineage and only the second for any chondrichthyan. The parthenogenetic embryo exhibited elevated homozygosity relative to its mother, indicating that automictic parthenogenesis is the most likely mechanism. Although this finding shows that parthenogenesis is more common and widespread in sharks than previously realized and supports the early existence of parthenogenetic abilities in vertebrates, the adaptive significance of automixis in these ancient fishes remains unclear. © 2008 The Authors.

publication date

  • October 1, 2008

published in

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

start page

  • 1473

end page

  • 1477

volume

  • 73

issue

  • 6