Gynandromorphs are creatures split down the middle into male and female halves. Though most commonly found in insects and arachnids (spiders), the curious condition has been noted in higher animals including crustaceans, crabs, cardinals and chickens.
1. Gynandromorph Butterfly
Butterflies are among the most frequently noticed gynandromorphs, owing to the creatures’ oft-exaggerated sexual dimorphism - that is, male and female butterflies of the same species can differ greatly in both size and coloration.
Image via: [¯Ô¯] StephsShots
Since butterflies display their brightest colours on their wings, marked asymmetry in the colour and patterning of the wing scales is easily noticed from a distance by both human observers and hungry predators. One wonders what other butterflies think…do gynandromorph butterflies attract males and females, repel either gender, or a little of both?
2. Gynandromorph Moth
Images/more info via: Amateur Entomologists’ Society, Africa Unlocked
Moths can be afflicted by gynandromorphism to the same degree as butterflies but being primarily night-active insects, coloration plays a lesser role in display and identification. That leaves size, which isn’t good news if you’re a gynandromorphic moth. These bizarre creatures can also be identified by their antennae: those of males are feathery, those of females are slender.
Images/more info via via: Nature.com News Blog and Scielo Brasil
It’s doubtful gynandromorphic moths of species that normally express a wide variance of sexual dimorphism can fly at all, so we must assume that most if not all of the recorded, documented and photographed examples emerged from their cocoons in captivity.
3. Gynandromorph Phasmid
Image via: Wikipedia
Phasmids, like the gynandromorphic Malayan Jungle Nymph (Heteropteryx dilatata) above, are insects known variously as Walking Sticks or Leaf Insects after the inanimate objects they unconsciously imitate. The phasmid pictured is quite a piece of work since female Malayan Jungle Nymphs are much larger than males (and these insects are HUGE to begin with!), are coloured bright lime green as opposed to mottled brown, and are flightless whereas males can fly.
4. Gynandromorph Spider
Image via: Spider Silk Stockings
Aren’t spiders creepy enough without adding gynandromorphism to the mix? Actually, arachnids aren’t creepy at all - it’s all in your head, or ON your head if you don’t watch where you’re going! Spiders don’t exhibit as much sexual dimorphism as some insects (and spiders aren’t insects, trivia buffs) but gynandromorphs are still quite obvious even without an up-close-and-personal inspection.
Images/more info via: KRYP and The Science Forum
The pair of cleverly manipulated photographs above were created by “mirroring” each half of a gynandromorphic Fringed Ornamental tarantula (Poecilotheria ornata). This eight-legged, tree-dwelling, living Battle of the Sexes is native to the forests of Sri Lanka and it’s reputed to be an aggressive biter…something to consider, considering its leg span can reaches up to 10 inches (25 cm) across.
5. Gynandromorph Crab
Images/more info via: VIMS and Habitat News
One claw two claw red claw blue claw…now hold on a sec, Blue Crab males have blue claws while Blue Crab females have red claws. What to make of a Blue Crab with one blue claw and one red claw, like the one caught by waterman Dave Johnson (above) in a crab pot off the coast of Gwynn’s Island, Virginia [USA] on May 21st of 2005? According to Virginia Institute of Marine Science crab expert Rom Lipcius, the crab Johnson caught is a bilateral gynandromorph, meaning it’s split down the middle gender-wise. Lipcius had never seen such a crab before but upon researching the topic came across a similar crab caught near Smith’s Island in 1979.
6. Gynandromorph Lobster
Images/more info via: ShrimpNow, The Planted Tank and The Lobster Conservancy
First noted in 1730, gynandromorph lobsters are extremely rare - they do attract notice, however, because the condition is often (but not always) characterized and/or accompanied by the male and female halves sporting different colours. Another way to quickly discern a gynandromorph lobster is to check its claws: American Lobsters normally possess one sharp cutting claw and one larger, blunter, crushing claw.
Image/more info via: Snow Crab Love
Female lobsters produce eggs whether they’ve mated or not; a gynandromorph lobster was once captured in the wild carrying half the usual complement of eggs. The lobsterman who found the creature donated it to the Maine Department of Marine Resources who monitored the eggs. Though only two eggs were observed to hatch, one of the larvae was male and the other was female.
7. Gynandromorph Chicken
Images/more info via: Science Buzz and Backyard Chickens
Gynandromorphism has been observed in birds but not reptiles or amphibians - this may be due to the fact that normal male and female birds are often easy to tell apart, frogs & snakes not so much. Being domestic birds which demonstrate a wide degree of sexual dimorphism, gynandromorph chickens have been documented on numerous occasions throughout history.
Image via: Backyard Chickens
A gynandromorph chicken looks lopsided due to the differing structure of muscle mass in hens and roosters. As well, the average gynandromorph chicken will typically have a spur on the male half’s foot but not on the female half’s foot. Do gynandromorph chickens crow with the sunrise? Maybe just a little…we can forgive them for going off half cocked.
8. Gynandromorph Cardinal
Images/more info via: Ohio Birds and Biodiversity/Larry Ammann, Naichisoup, DWMaiden
and Finchwench
The Northern Cardinal is one of more common and colourful birds of North America. They also exhibit a high degree of sexual dimorphism - males and females are roughly similar in size but males are bright red from beak to tail while females display a much more muted feather colour pattern.
Image via: Ohio Birds and Biodiversity / Larry Ammann
Gynandromorph Cardinals are very obvious and even though they’re rare, those with bird feeders in their yards may notice one every once in a while. That is, if the bird’s facing towards the viewer or away: from the side it’s a different story. Other bird species that have exhibited gynandromorphism include songbirds such as Sparrows and Blue-throated Warblers but when it comes to striking displays of gynandromorphism, the Northern Cardinal rules the roost!
Image via: Science Photo Library
Gynandromorphism is virtually unknown in animals higher than birds. Scientists think this is because in mammals, sexual differentiation occurs as a result of hormonal stimulus. In gynandromorphs, on the other hand, the condition occurs soon after an egg is fertilized and, on occasion, even before when two sperm cells penetrate an unfertilized egg. So-called “human gynandromorphs” such as that depicted in the 16th century woodcut above may merely be hermaphrodites - a whole ‘nother kettle of fish as it were! Can you imagine a human gynandromorph with different coloured eyes and hair on either half? Aside of a cosplay convention or Comicon event, neither can we!
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