New baby leopard sharks born at National Zoo and Aquarium

But what makes the arrival of new leopard sharks Luna and Leda even more remarkable is how they were born, with both being clones of their mother, Lady.

Lady made both babies by herself without the help of a father through an asexual reproduction process known as parthenogenesis.

National Zoo and Aquarium senior aquarist Katey Rawstron said Luna and Leda were the first baby sharks to be born at the institution, which made the method of their birth even more fascinating.

"There's a lot we don't know about parthenogenesis and we know leopard sharks do it, but we don't know if they do it in the wild or just in captivity," she said.

"There's a couple of other species like bamboo sharks and white spotted eagle rays [that can carry out parthenogenesis] and so it's lucky leopard sharks are an egg-laying species."

The newborns, which hatched on May 19, are being housed in a separate tank to their mother for the time being, but will move to join her in coming months once they grow.

The shark species is most commonly found in Australian waters north of Byron Bay and can reach a length of about two metres.

Ms Rawstron said it had taken several years for Lady to be able to reproduce.

"Leopard sharks aren't fully mature until they are around nine to 11-years-old," she said.

"She has laid eggs before but these are the first babies that she has had.

"It was kind of a waiting game, we were candling the eggs and shining a torch on them under water but eventually we could see little eyes and mouths through the egg."

The eggs were incubated in the larger tank with their mother for the first few months, before they were moved to a smaller tank just ahead of their birth last month.

Despite their name, leopard sharks are not born with their distinctive spots.

Instead, they are born having stripes, leading to them also being called zebra sharks.

While the newborns will eventually outgrow their stripes in their first few months, Ms Rawstron said there was another reason they were born without their spots.

"They are born stripey because they mimic highly venomous sea snakes, and their stripes are similar," she said.

"When they're born they are defenceless and have no sharp teeth, but when they get bigger, they don't need to look as venomous."

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