WEBVTT - Can Some Animals Be Half Male and Half Female?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum here. Occasionally a photo will

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<v Speaker 1>circulate of a rare animal that fascinates and thrills not

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<v Speaker 1>just hobbyists in bird watching or the like. For example,

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<v Speaker 1>in twenty nineteen, a cardinal appeared in a Pennsylvania backyard

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<v Speaker 1>with plumage split practically down the middle. One side a

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<v Speaker 1>cherry red, the other a soft mix of yellow and brown.

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<v Speaker 1>Animals like this with some male and some female traits

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<v Speaker 1>are known as gynandromorphs. The word is a combination of

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<v Speaker 1>the Greek roots for female, male, and form. More specifically,

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<v Speaker 1>this colorful cardinal is a bilateral gynandromorph, meaning that one

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<v Speaker 1>side of the body takes on female secondary sex characteristics

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<v Speaker 1>and the other side male secondary sex characteristics. Although reproductive

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<v Speaker 1>organs do sometimes match up with these sex specific physical

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<v Speaker 1>features like ovaries appearing on the female side and testes

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<v Speaker 1>on the male side, this is not always the case.

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<v Speaker 1>You might also refer to this creature as a sexual

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<v Speaker 1>mosaic or a type of male female kinra Chimera is

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<v Speaker 1>a word that has its roots in Greek mythology and

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<v Speaker 1>refers to a being who carries two separate sets of DNA.

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<v Speaker 1>Dating back to at least the eighteen hundreds, scientists have

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<v Speaker 1>observed gynandromorphs in nature. They've been especially well observed in

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<v Speaker 1>insect and crustacean populations. Among vertebrates, gynandromorphs birds known as

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<v Speaker 1>half ciders among avian enthusiasts, have received the most attention.

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<v Speaker 1>But how do these gynandromorphs form. Longstanding scientific theories have

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<v Speaker 1>focused on the loss of a sex chromosome at the

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<v Speaker 1>stage of mitosis or cellular division, which has commonly been

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<v Speaker 1>described as the process by which fruit fly gynandromorph's form. However,

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<v Speaker 1>for a certain species like crustaceans, an imbalance of sex

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<v Speaker 1>determining hormone owns has also been shown to influence gynandromorphism.

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<v Speaker 1>But more recent theories challenge the idea of chromosomal loss,

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<v Speaker 1>specifically in the case of gynandromorphs birds like our cardinal friend.

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<v Speaker 1>In birds, sex chromosomes are designated as Z and W.

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<v Speaker 1>These present in males as to Z chromosomes or z Z,

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<v Speaker 1>and in females as one Z and one W chromosome

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<v Speaker 1>or ZW. Sometimes, issues during biosis lead to the fertilization

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<v Speaker 1>of a female pro nucleus or egg cell, which normally

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<v Speaker 1>unites with a male pronucleus to form a fertilized egg

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<v Speaker 1>with both a Z and a W chromosome and bingo

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<v Speaker 1>a gynandromorphs baby bird is born. Although it could be

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<v Speaker 1>easy to confuse gynandromorphs with intersex organisms, there are differences

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<v Speaker 1>between the two types of animals. Intersex animals possess genetically

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<v Speaker 1>similar tissue throughout their bodies. On the other hand, gynandromorphs

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<v Speaker 1>contain genetically diverse tissue, causing some cells to be female

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<v Speaker 1>and others male. So in short, yes, some animals can

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<v Speaker 1>be half male and half female, though their rarity makescitings

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<v Speaker 1>like these of treasured delight. Today's episode is based on

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<v Speaker 1>the article yes animals can be half male and half

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<v Speaker 1>email on how stuff works dot Com, written by Terry R. Lagata.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production off i Heart Radio and partnership

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<v Speaker 1>with how stuff works dot Com, and is produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Klang. For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the

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