The Metropolis

"It has half-male, half-female sexual organs welded together"

Mike Pollitt | Wednesday 13 July, 2011 10:39

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That’s what The Guardian reports butterfly manager Luke Brown saying about a gynandromorph just born at the National History Museum. But tell me, I hear you say, why is this dual sex animal a gynandromorph and not a hermaphrodite? What is the difference between the two?

Well, a hermaphrodite has both male and female sexual organs. A gynandromorph has half male and half female, welded together. They can be very beautiful, or very strange. So far it appears that the other butterflies have treated the unusual newcomer with tolerance and respect, none of them have called it names or laughed or tried to make a BBC3 documentary about it or anything. Good for them.

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