The strange butterfly is male on one side and female on the other. On the male side, the wings are black and paler in colour, than on the female side. The sex organs, which are half male, half female, are fused together. The example in the photo shows a half female, half male Common Blue butterfly.
Organisms which are of this type, displaying half male, half female characteristics, are called gynandromorphs. Some have bilateral asymmetry: one side female and one side male. Others can be mosaic and are less defined.
Organisms which are of this type, displaying half male, half female characteristics, are called gynandromorphs. Some have bilateral asymmetry: one side female and one side male. Others can be mosaic and are less defined.
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| Malaysian stick insect, gynandromorph |
The half female, half male insect occurs when sex chromosomes don't properly separate when the fertilised egg divides.
Half female, half male specimens, have been found in other animals like spiders, lobsters, crabs and even birds.
Half female, half male specimens, have been found in other animals like spiders, lobsters, crabs and even birds.
The last member of a species of snail (Achatinella apexfulva) died in January 2019. The snail, named George, was of a variety endemic to the forests of the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian archipelago. George was the last member of a breeding program, after these snails had gone extinct in the wild. George, who was an hermaphrodite, hardly emerged from his shell in the last 14 years.
Books To Read
Everybody Lies, by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz.
