Hermaphrodites include animals and plants. If a living being possesses both the male and female reproductive systems, naturally or in an artificial way, it is referred to as being hermaphrodite. Hermaphrodite statistics demonstrate the prevalence of hermaphrodite plants and animals.This condition is quite unusual in humans.
Sexes are not differentiated in many taxonomic categories of animals, primarily invertebrates. Hermaphroditism is a common condition in these categories, enabling sexual reproduction where either partner can assume the role of the female or the male. For example, most earthworms, slugs, opisthobranchs, tunicates, and pulmonate molluscs are hermaphrodites.
Table of Contents
Definition
An organism possessing both male and female organs is called hermaphrodite. Males in sexually reproducing species have organs that create male gametes, often called sperm. Female gametes, referred to as eggs, are produced by various sexual organs in females. In sexually dimorphic creatures, the population is split into sexes, and each individual only has one type of reproductive organ.
Most plants are essentially hermaphrodites, meaning that a single plant will have both a male and a female flower, each containing the reproductive organs of both sexes. It is known as mixed breeding when it occurs in some unique species. The populations of these species include both sexes and hermaphrodites.
Hermaphroditus, a minor Greek god and the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, is the source of the word “hermaphrodite.” It refers to an organism possessing both male and female reproductive organs. One who has both functional male and female gonads is referred to as being hermaphrodite. That person can produce both the gametes at least once during their lifetime.
Types of Hermaphrodite
Sequential Hermaphrodites
Sequential hermaphrodites, also known as dichogamy, are seen in species where an organism is born as one sex but has the ability to change into the other sex. Sequential hermaphroditism is frequent in teleost fish, several gastropods, including the ubiquitous slipper shell, and various flowering plants. Only once can sequential hermaphrodites change sex.
Sequential hermaphrodites can be classified into three main categories:
- Protandry: When an organism shifts from being male to female after being born male. For example, the clownfish (genus Amphiprion) exhibits protandry.
- Protogyny: A condition in which an organism is born female and later transforms into a male. For example, the family of reef fish known as wrasses (Labridae) frequently exhibits protogyny.
- Bidirectional Sex Changers: These organisms have both male and female reproductive organs that can change their sexual orientation at different points in their lives. For example, the family of coral reef fish known as Lythrypnus dalli exhibits bidirectional sex change.
Simultaneous Hermaphrodites
An adult organism that possesses both male and female sexual organs simultaneously is called a simultaneous (synchronous) hermaphrodite (homogamous). They are considered to have both sexes in one person. Self-fertilisation frequently takes place.
The most common species of simultaneous hermaphrodites are probably land slugs and pulmonate land snails. They are among the terrestrial animals with this sexual polymorphism.
Another type of hermaphroditic gastropod is the banana slug.
Another type of simultaneous hermaphrodite is the earthworm.
Monoecy
In botany, the term “hermaphrodite” is used to describe a flower having both pollen-producing staminate (male) and ovule-producing carpellate (female) parts.
Monoecious plants produce both female and male flowers on a single plant. Due to their ability to generate both gametes, monoecious plants are frequently referred to as hermaphrodites. Being an organ or component of the plant body, the single flower cannot be hermaphroditic by itself. Only 7% of angiosperm species are monoecious. Conifers are largely monoecious; however, 65% of gymnosperms are dioecious.
Andromonoecy
Over 4000 different plant species possess this kind of hermaphrodite. It arises when plants produce flowers with both male and female components, but the female features are sterile and unable to be fertilised. These species are regarded as andromonoecious, and the flower is referred to as “perfect”.
Hermaphroditism in Humans
Hermaphroditic traits in humans can result from several different genetic disorders. A hermaphrodite can develop in sexually dimorphic creatures due to changes in genetic coding. When two fertilised eggs (one fertilised by sperm having X and another with Y chromosome) combine, they result in person with dual genetic features, making the person a hermaphrodite or intersex.
Other hermaphrodites develop from the SRY gene, which produces testosterone and male genitalia, transferring to the X chromosome during meiosis, giving rise to both male and female genitalia.Hermaphroditism in humans describes conditions that involve differences between external and internal genitalia. In humans, such situations are highly unusual.
Related Link:
Visit BYJU’S Biology for more information.
