June 1, 2015 — The smalltooth sawfish, one of the world’s most threatened marine fish species, may have come up with a plan B.
Populations of this Atlantic Ocean ray are so low that it’s possible some are producing young through a process known as “virgin birth,” in which the females can fertilize their eggs without sperm.
Seven immature smalltooth sawfish likely entered the world in this way, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Current Biology.
Virgin birth—also known as parthenogenesis—isn’t unheard of in sharks,snakes, and even birds. But this is the first known instance of virgin births in wild members of the shark family. (See “World’s Longest Snake Has Virgin Birth—First Recorded in Species.”)