Litinsects

Litinsects #59: Gynandromorphs Ok people, pretty sure I’m gonna blow your minds with this one. No, these pictures are not some freakish cut-and-paste Frankenstein experiments. These animals are absolutely real and extremely rare GYNANDROMORPHS. Common blue gynandromorph (left male, right female) © Burkhard Hinnersmann This word comes from the Greek “gyne” for female, “andro” for male, and “morph” for form... meaning that these individuals contain BOTH MALE AND FEMALE tissues! Firstly, this is not the same thing as a hermaphrodite, which is an organism that contains both types of gonads or can create both sperm and eggs. Gynandromorphs literally have some body parts that are genetically female and others that are genetically male. So I’m sure you’re asking... how?! Malaysian stick insect (left male, right female) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heteropteryx_dilatata_0034b_L.D.jpg Many different genetic systems exist in the animal kingdom. In humans XX codes for female and