mjcoussens
Contributor
Saw this on Digg this morning and thought other SBer's would be interested. While this is interesting as it's one of only a couple of known cases of parthenogenesis in sharks, however, it is well documented in insects and even in higher organisms such as some reptiles. In fact, there is a species of worm snake here in Hawaii that is entirely female, yet the are able to reproduce via laying viable eggs. This does not occur in mammals due to DNA methylation patterns and imprinting, but these mechanisms are not present (to my knowledge) in organisms such as reptiles and fish.
Matt
Matt
