Shark gives birth to pup without sperm from mate in rare 'virgin birth' in US

A female shark at Brookfield Zoo in US' Illinois gave 'virgin birth' to a pup despite having no contact with any males in last four years. It gave birth through parthenogenesis, an asexual reproduction wherein an egg can develop into an embryo without being fertilised by a sperm. Parthenogenesis is relatively rare for complex vertebrates like sharks, Brookfield Zoo said.