Shark Litters Can Have More Than One Father
- 11 years ago
A new study from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Marine Biology Research Division has shown that a litter of baby sharks can have multiple fathers.
A new study from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Marine Biology Research Division has shown that a litter of baby sharks can have multiple fathers.
According to the research that focused on leopard sharks, one litter of shark pups can have up to five fathers.
Andrew Nosal from Scripps is quoted as saying: “There is no parental care in leopard sharks or any species of shark. Leopard sharks are born live with all the instincts they need to find food and avoid predators. There is evidence of size clustering, which may function in predator avoidance or increased foraging efficiency."
The instances of multiple paternity in a single litter is common and documented among several species of sharks, including leopard sharks, small-spotted catsharks, bonnethead sharks, lemon sharks, sandbar sharks and nurse sharks.
Because males are so aggressive when they are mating, females submit to copulation to avoid physical injury.
The study conducted paternity tests on 22 litters of leopard shark pups, which have an average of 20 pups per litter.
More than 36 percent of the litters that were part of the study were fathered by two males.
A new study from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Marine Biology Research Division has shown that a litter of baby sharks can have multiple fathers.
According to the research that focused on leopard sharks, one litter of shark pups can have up to five fathers.
Andrew Nosal from Scripps is quoted as saying: “There is no parental care in leopard sharks or any species of shark. Leopard sharks are born live with all the instincts they need to find food and avoid predators. There is evidence of size clustering, which may function in predator avoidance or increased foraging efficiency."
The instances of multiple paternity in a single litter is common and documented among several species of sharks, including leopard sharks, small-spotted catsharks, bonnethead sharks, lemon sharks, sandbar sharks and nurse sharks.
Because males are so aggressive when they are mating, females submit to copulation to avoid physical injury.
The study conducted paternity tests on 22 litters of leopard shark pups, which have an average of 20 pups per litter.
More than 36 percent of the litters that were part of the study were fathered by two males.