Whatever happened to ... Tidbit the pregnant shark?

It's still a mystery fit for the tabloids.

How did Tidbit, the blacktip shark who died after biting a Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center worker in May, ever get herself pregnant?

You see, there were no male blacktips in the aquarium, and Tidbit came to the facility as a youngster and had spent 10 years in the tank without a mate, so far as the aquarium officials can figure.

That's way beyond even a shark's gestation period, according to Linda Candler, the aquarium's director of marketing.

Tidbit made news in May when she bit Beth Firchau, a curator who had worked for 11 years with sharks.

She was in the tank with Tidbit helping veterinarians complete an annual physical on the shark. It was the first-ever shark bite at the facility.

Tidbit apparently had reacted badly to the sedatives used by the vets, and she died several hours after the attack.

When they did a necropsy after Tidbit died, they discovered she was with pup.

Curators were baffled, Candler said.

The aquarium put out a news release, raising the possibility that it was a rare instance of asexual reproduction.

Just a month earlier, scientists in a Nebraska zoo had confirmed that a female hammerhead shark had given birth without mating with a male.

A Florida-based researcher offered to take on the mystery, Candler said. The aquarium sent samples of the DNA from Tidbit and the 1-pound fetus found in her uterus.

The researcher will run multiple DNA tests on both, and if they all come up confirming only one source of genetic materials, it will prove Mom pulled the pregnancy off alone, Candler said.

If not, there's the possibility Tidbit crossed the genetic line and mated with another species. The world is full of mules and wolf/dog hybrids, after all.

The researcher, however, had to leave the country before finishing the testing, Candler said.

"Unfortunately, it's not like on 'CSI,' where you have DNA results back in 10 seconds," she added.

As for the shark expert who was bitten, Candler said Firchau is doing fine and has been back working with sharks for quite some time.

"She said, 'It completed my list,' " Candler said. " 'I've been bitten, barbed or stung by just about everything.' "

Tony Germanotta, (757) 446-2377, tony.germanotta@pilotonline.com