Pregnant stingray could have 'hybrid' SHARK babies in 'miraculous' mystery

A stingray praised for its miraculous solo pregnancy may have had four pups with a shark, it has been revealed.

Last week, Team Ecco's Aquarium & Shark Lab, based in South Carolina, was shocked by the discovery that the wirefish Charlotte was pregnant in an aquarium without males.

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In a Facebook post, the aquarium wrote: “Our stingray, Charlotte, is pregnant!

“We have held this close to our hearts for more than three months.

“We have confirmed ultrasound images from two supporters: Dr. Robert Jones, Aquarium Zvet from Australia, and Becka Campbell, PhD candidate at Arizona State Univ.

“The really amazing thing is that we don't have a male ray! We have a number of possible reasons for this event.”

The pregnancy is considered “a one-time scientific mystery” by the aquarium.

One explanation behind the mystery is that Charlotte the stingray, who is due to give birth any day now, may have reproduced herself.

But another possible explanation is that Charlotte mated with one of the young sharks, according to Brenda Ramer, executive director of Team Ecco.

“In mid-July 2023, we moved two one-year-old male white spot bamboo (sharks) into that aquarium,” Ramer told ABC 13 News.

“There was nothing we could find definitively about their ripening rate, so we didn't think there would be a problem.

“We started noticing bite marks on Charlotte, but saw other fish snapping at her, so we moved the fish, but the biting continued.”

Speaking about the stingray and her future babies, Ms Ramer added: “We're either going to have partho babies or some kind of potential mixed breed, and we're waiting for Jeff Goldblum to show up because we are Jurassic Park straight away!”

Parthobabies refer to parthenogenesis, a natural form of asexual reproduction that allows an embryo to grow without a partner.

The DNA test will be completed once Charlotte gives birth.