R
rdean
Guest
This rare butterfly is half male, half female
This Lexias pardalis butterfly is perfectly split down its middle -- with male coloring on the left side of its body and wings and female coloring on the right.
It's a condition called gynandromorphism. It usually happens early in development, when cells are just beginning to split to form an embryo. One of the early cells fails to split its sex chromosomes properly (for example, an XXYY might split into an X and an XYY instead of two XY cells). These cells continue to divide and proliferate, and they're signaling for the organism to grow into two different sexes.
Interesting
This Lexias pardalis butterfly is perfectly split down its middle -- with male coloring on the left side of its body and wings and female coloring on the right.
It's a condition called gynandromorphism. It usually happens early in development, when cells are just beginning to split to form an embryo. One of the early cells fails to split its sex chromosomes properly (for example, an XXYY might split into an X and an XYY instead of two XY cells). These cells continue to divide and proliferate, and they're signaling for the organism to grow into two different sexes.
Interesting
