gynandromorphism

Gynandromorphism has been noted in Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) since the 1700s.{{cite journal |last1=Rudolphi |first1=Karl Asmund |title=Beschreibung einer seltenen menschlichen Zwitterbildung nebst vorangeschickten allgemeinen Bemerkungen über Zwitter-Thiere |journal=Abhandlungen der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin |date=1828 |pages=45–69 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2WFDAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA45 |language=de}}{{cite journal |last1=Packard |first1=Alpheus Spring |title=On Gynandromorphism in the Lepidoptera |journal=Memoirs Read Before the Boston Society of Natural History |date=1875 |volume=2 |pages=409–412 |url=https://archive.org/details/memoirsreadbefor02bost/page/n443/mode/2up}}{{cite web |last1=Pavid |first1=Katie |title=Beauty of the dual-gender butterfly |url=https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/beauty-dual-gender-butterfly.html |publisher=Natural History Museum |access-date=11 May 2021}} It has also been observed in crustaceans, such as lobsters and crabs, in spiders,{{Cite journal|last1=Suzuki|first1=Yuya|last2=Kuramitsu|first2=Kazumu|last3=Yokoi|first3=Tomoyuki|date=2019-06-14|title=Morphology and sex-specific behavior of a gynandromorphic Myrmarachne formicaria (Araneae: Salticidae) spider|journal=The Science of Nature|language=en|volume=106|issue=7|pages=34|doi=10.1007/s00114-019-1625-x|pmid=31201570|bibcode=2019SciNa.106...34S|s2cid=189819156|issn=1432-1904|hdl=2241/00159248|url=https://tsukuba.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=53830|hdl-access=free}} ticks,{{cite journal |last1=Labruna |first1=M. B. |last2=Ribeiro |first2=A. F. |last3=Cruz |first3=M. V. |last4=Camargo |first4=L. M A. |last5=Camargo |first5=E. P. |title=Gynandromorphism in Amblyomma cajennense and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae) |journal=Journal of Parasitology |date=August 2002 |volume=88 |issue=4 |pages=810–811 |doi=10.1645/0022-3395(2002)088[0810:GIACAR]2.0.CO;2|pmid=12197141 |s2cid=26299983 }} flies,{{cite journal |last1=Morgan |first1=T. H. |title=Mosaics and gynandromorphs in Drosophila |journal=Experimental Biology and Medicine |date=1 June 1914 |volume=11 |issue=6 |pages=171–172 |doi=10.3181/00379727-11-105|s2cid=87401593 }} locusts,{{cite journal |last1=Maeno |first1=Koutaro |last2=Tanaka |first2=Seiji |title=Morphological and behavioural characteristics of a gynandromorph of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria |journal=Physiological Entomology |date=September 2007 |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=294–299 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-3032.2007.00573.x|s2cid=85317122 }} crickets,{{cite journal |last1=Taniyama |first1=Katsuya |last2=Onodera |first2=Kaori |last3=Tanaka |first3=Kazuhiro |title=Sexual identity and sexual attractiveness of a gynandromorph of the lawn ground cricket, Polionemobius mikado (Orthoptera: Trigonidiidae): Gynandromorph of Polionemobius mikado |journal=Entomological Science |date=December 2018 |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=423–427 |doi=10.1111/ens.12321|s2cid=91381517 }} dragonflies,{{cite journal |last1=Renjith |first1=R. V. |last2=Chandran |first2=A. Vivek |title=A record of gynandromorphism in the libellulid dragonfly Crocothemis servilia (Insecta: Odonata) from India |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |date=26 June 2020 |volume=12 |issue=9 |pages=16183–16186 |doi=10.11609/jott.5322.12.9.16183-16186|doi-access=free }} ants,{{cite journal |last1=Donisthorpe |first1=Horace |title=Gynandromorphism in ants |journal=Zoologischer Anzeiger |date=1929 |volume=82 |pages=92–96 |url=http://antbase.org/ants/publications/5762/5762.pdf}}{{cite journal |last1=Cokendolpher |first1=James C. |last2=Francke |first2=Oscar F. |title=Gynandromorphic Desert Fire Ant, Solenopsis aurea Wheeler (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) |journal=Journal of the New York Entomological Society |date=1983 |volume=91 |issue=3 |pages=242–245 |jstor=25009362 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25009362 |issn=0028-7199}} termites,{{cite journal |last1=Miyaguni |first1=Yasushi |last2=Nozaki |first2=Tomonari |last3=Yashiro |first3=Toshihisa |title=The first report of gynandromorphy in termites (Isoptera; Kalotermitidae; Neotermes koshunensis) |journal=The Science of Nature |date=August 2017 |volume=104 |issue=7–8 |pages=60 |doi=10.1007/s00114-017-1478-0|pmid=28676938 |bibcode=2017SciNa.104...60M |s2cid=21170853 }} bees,{{cite journal |last1=Lucia |first1=Mariano |last2=Gonzalez |first2=Victor. H. |title=A New Gynandromorph of Xylocopa frontalis with a Review of Gynandromorphism in Xylocopa (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Xylocopini) |journal=Annals of the Entomological Society of America |date=1 November 2013 |volume=106 |issue=6 |pages=853–856 |doi=10.1603/AN13085|s2cid=84567180 |doi-access=free |hdl=11336/23238 |hdl-access=free }} lizards,{{cite journal |last1=Mitchell |first1=Joseph C. |last2=Fouquette |first2=M. J. |title=A Gynandromorphic Whiptail Lizard, Cnemidophorus inornatus, from Arizona |journal=Copeia |date=10 February 1978 |volume=1978 |issue=1 |pages=156 |doi=10.2307/1443840|jstor=1443840 }} snakes,{{cite journal |last1=Krohmer |first1=Randolph W. |title=Reproductive Physiology and Behavior of a Gynandromorph Redsided Garter Snake, Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis, from Central Manitoba, Canada |journal=Copeia |date=27 December 1989 |volume=1989 |issue=4 |pages=1064–1068 |doi=10.2307/1446001|jstor=1446001 }} rodents,{{cite journal |last1=Asdell |first1=S. A. |title=The Accessory Reproductive Tract in Mammalian True Hermaphrodites, an Effect of Position |journal=The American Naturalist |date=1942 |volume=76 |issue=762 |pages=75–84 |doi=10.1086/281015 |jstor=2457667 |bibcode=1942ANat...76...75A |s2cid=83563917 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2457667 |issn=0003-0147}}{{cite journal |last1=Hollander |first1=W. F. |last2=Gowen |first2=John W. |last3=Stadler |first3=Janice |title=A study of 25 gynandromorphic mice of the Bagg albino strain |journal=The Anatomical Record |date=February 1956 |volume=124 |issue=2 |pages=223–243 |doi=10.1002/ar.1091240207|pmid=13302819 |s2cid=21938150 }} and birds.{{Cite web |last=National Geographic |title=Rare Half Male, Half Female Cardinal Spotted in Pennsylvania |website= National Geographic Society|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/half-male-half-female-cardinal-pennsylvania |date=2019-07-01 |access-date=2025-03-19}}{{cite journal |pages=7730–5 |doi=10.1073/pnas.0408350102 |title=Sexually dimorphic expression of trkB, a Z-linked gene, in early posthatch zebra finch brain |year=2005 |first1=Xuqi |last1=Chen |first2=Robert J. |last2=Agate |first3=Yuichiro |last3=Itoh |first4=Arthur P. |last4=Arnold |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=102 |issue=21 |pmid=15894627 |pmc=1140405|bibcode=2005PNAS..102.7730C |doi-access=free}}

• {{cite magazine |author=Laura Wright |date=March 25, 2003 |title=Unique Bird Sheds Light on Sex Differences in the Brain |magazine=Scientific American |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=unique-bird-sheds-light-o}}Gouldian finch

Erythrura gouldiae [http://users.skynet.be/fa398872/engoulm10.htm Gynandromorph] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060716013321/http://users.skynet.be/fa398872/engoulm10.htm |date=2006-07-16 }}Powdermill Banding [http://www.westol.com/~banding/Pictorial_Highlights_090605.html Fall 2004] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061231235033/http://www.westol.com/~banding/Pictorial_Highlights_090605.html |date=2006-12-31 }}A Gender-bender Colored Cardinal, by Tim Wall, Discovery News, 31 May 2011 [http://news.discovery.com/animals/bi-color-cardinal-mystery-110531.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120930101733/http://news.discovery.com/animals/bi-color-cardinal-mystery-110531.html|date=2012-09-30}}{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8561814.stm|title=Half-cock chicken mystery solved|date=11 March 2010|work=BBC News}} Although it can be seen in a variety of species, gynandromorphism is notably uncommon.{{Cite journal |last1=Martens |first1=Andreas |last2=Wildermuth |first2=Hansruedi |date=1 June 2021 |title=Gynandromorphism and intersexuality in Odonata: a review |url=https://bioone.org/journals/odonatologica/volume-50/issue-1-2/zenodo.4746242/Gynandromorphism-and-intersexuality-in-Odonata-a-review/10.5281/zenodo.4746242.short |journal=Odonatologica |volume=50 |issue=1–2 |pages=65–80 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.4746242.short |doi-broken-date=27 April 2025 |via=BioOne Digital Library}} Reporting depends on ease of detecting the phenomenon (whether a species displays noticeable sexual dimorphism) and how well-studied a region or organism is. For example, up until 2023 gynandromorphism had been reported in more than 40 bird species, but the vast majority of these are from the Palearctic and Nearctic; meanwhile, incidents in species from other regions may go underreported due to lack of data collection.{{cite journal| last1=Stępniewski | first1=J. | last2=Surmacki | first2=A. | year=2023 | title=The first case of bilateral gynandromorphic plumage type in the bearded reedling Panurus biarmicus | journal=The European Zoological Journal | volume=90 | issue=2 | pages=643–647 | doi=10.1080/24750263.2023.2231000 | doi-access=free }}

Several patterns of tissue distribution occur amongst observed gynandromorphs. Patch-like patterns may arise, but commonly the phenotype presents in a symmetrical pattern, of which there are three main types: bilateral, oblique, and transverse. Bilateral describes an organism that is split laterally with one side possessing female characteristics and the other having male characteristics. Oblique refers to a diagonal line across the sagittal plane that separates the male and female phenotypes. Lastly, transverse is a separation of male and female phenotypes along an axis that intersects with what would be considered the primary axis for the body of a given organism.

A notable example in birds is the zebra finch. These birds have lateralized brain structures in the face of a common steroid signal, providing strong evidence for a non-hormonal primary sex mechanism regulating brain differentiation.{{cite journal |pages=701–8 |doi=10.1038/nrn1494 |title=Sex chromosomes and brain gender |year=2004 |last1=Arnold |first1=Arthur P. |journal=Nature Reviews Neuroscience |volume=5 |issue=9 |pmid=15322528|s2cid=7419814 }}

Papilioandrogeusfemale.jpg|Normal female of Papilio androgeus

Papilioandrogeusgynandromorph.jpg|Mosaic gynandromorph of Papilio androgeus

Papilioandrogeosmale.jpg|Normal male of Papilio androgeus

The exact cause for gynandromorphism is unknown, and appears to vary by species. One proposed cause for the phenotype in birds is a disruption that occurs in meiosis in female birds -- who possess ZW chromosomes -- in which polar bodies are not forced out of the cell.{{Cite journal |last1=Morris |first1=Kirsten R |last2=Hirst |first2=Claire E. |last3=Major |first3=Andrew T. |last4=Ezaz |first4=Tariq |last5=Ford |first5=Mark |last6=Bibby |first6=Susan |last7=Doran |first7=Tim J. |last8=Smith |first8=Craig A. |date=15 August 2018 |title=Gonadal and Endocrine Analysis of a Gynandromorphic Chicken |url=https://academic.oup.com/endo/article/159/10/3492/5074254 |journal=Endocrinology |volume=159 |issue=10 |pages=3492–3502 |doi=10.1210/en.2018-00553 |pmid=30124802 |via=Oxford Academic}} This is then followed with fertilization by two Z-bearing sperm cells which creates cells in the embryo containing both ZZ and ZW chromosomes. The same phenomenon can be seen in other species, such as Drosophila melanogaster, and creates a genetic mosaic which gives rise to the mixed phenotype.

Gynandromorphs occasionally afford a powerful tool in genetic, developmental, and behavioral analyses. In Drosophila melanogaster, for instance, they provided evidence that male courtship behavior originates in the brain,{{Cite journal|last=Hotta|first=Y, and Benzer, S.|date=1972|title=Mapping of Behaviour in Drosophila mosaics|journal=Nature|volume=240|issue=5383|pages=527–535|doi=10.1038/240527a0|pmid=4568399|bibcode=1972Natur.240..527H|s2cid=4181921}} that males can distinguish conspecific females from males by the scent or some other characteristic of the posterior, dorsal, integument of females,{{Cite journal|last=Nissani|first=M.|date=1975|title=A new behavioral bioassay for an analysis of sexual attraction and pheromones in insects|journal=Journal of Experimental Zoology|volume=192 |issue=2|pages=271–5|doi=10.1002/jez.1401920217|pmid=805823|bibcode=1975JEZ...192..271N }}{{Cite journal|last=Hotta|first=Y., Benzer, S.|date=1976|title=Courtship in Drosophila mosaics: sex-specific foci for sequential action patterns|journal=Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A|volume=73 |issue=11|pages=4154–4158|doi=10.1073/pnas.73.11.4154|pmid=825859|bibcode=1976PNAS...73.4154H|pmc=431365|doi-access=free}} that the germ cells originate in the posterior-most region of the blastoderm,{{Cite journal|date=1977|title=Cell lineage analysis of germ cells of Drosophila melanogaster|journal=Nature|volume=265|issue=5596|pages=729–731|doi=10.1038/265729a0|pmid=404558|bibcode=1977Natur.265..729N|last1=Nissani|first1=Moti|s2cid=4146956}} and that somatic components of the gonads originate in the mesodermal region of the fourth and fifth abdominal segment.{{Cite journal|last=Szabad|first=Janos, and Nothiger, Rolf|date=1992|title=Gynandromorphs of Drosophila suggest one common primordium for the somatic cells of the female and male gonads in the region of abdominal segments 4 and 5|url=http://dev.biologists.org/content/develop/115/2/527.full.pdf|journal=Development|volume=115|issue=2|pages=527–533|doi=10.1242/dev.115.2.527|pmid=1425338}}

• Mosaicism
• Androgyny
• Chimerism
• Gynomorph
• Half-sider budgerigar
• Hermaphrodite

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Gynandromorphs}}

• "[https://www.livescience.com/14210-gynandromorphs-dual-sex-disorder-strange-birds-butterflies-gallery.html Stunning Dual-Sex Animals]" at Live Science
• Aayushi Pratap: [https://www.sciencenews.org/article/bird-male-female-grosbeak-gynandromorph This rare bird is male on one side and female on the other]; on: Sciencenews; October 6, 2020; about a gynandromorph rose-breasted grosbeak.

Category:Insect physiology

Category:Sexual dimorphism