Charlotte, a round stingray at an aquarium in North Carolina, has become pregnant despite not having a mate for eight years now.
Scientists are confounded by this phenomenon, and many speculate that her two male shark roommates are possible fathers.
The alternate answer to the stingray conundrum is a process in which Charlotte got pregnant all by herself through asexual reproduction.
“The process is called parthenogenesis; it is so cool but so rare,” said Ethan Ford, a mechanical engineering major at UMKC.
While the process of asexual reproduction is a scientific rarity, some watchers are hoping for a new hybrid species, or “shark-ray.”
“I’d like to hope that it’s a shark-ray,” said Kathryn Coleman, a sophomore chemistry major. “That’d be way cooler,”
Despite the excitement around potential new aquatic life, the more plausible option is also quite sensational due to its infrequency in recorded history.
“If it is parthenogenesis, it is so rare already that it would just be crazy that it happened in captivity,” said Atlas Sizemore, a sophomore biomedical engineering major.
Since TikTok’s rise in popularity, viral sensations like these are much more common than they used to be. However, not all viewers believe exactly what they see.
“A lot of things go viral and it’s kind of hard to point out the reason why,” said Alanie Rivera, a sophomore psychology and criminal justice major, “Anybody that is on TikTok needs to be cautious of what’s on there.”
With Charlotte’s pups suspected to arrive any day now, casual viewers and scientists alike are highly anticipating the aquatic birth of the decade.
