Many taxonomic groups of animals (mostly invertebrates) do not have separate sexes. In these groups, hermaphroditism is a normal condition, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which either partner can act as the female or male.
Even though sex and gender are distinct terms, and animals do not have gender, it is not uncommon for people to refer to animals as having a gender. In fact, people will often refrain from saying the word sex at all, and human research is also not immune to this.
Hermaphroditic animals—mostly invertebrates such as worms, bryozoans (moss animals), trematodes (flukes), snails, slugs, and barnacles—are usually parasitic, slow-moving, or permanently attached to another animal or plant.
The New Mexico whiptail (Aspidoscelis neomexicanus) is a female-only species of lizard found in the southwestern United States in New Mexico and Arizona, and in northern Mexico in Chihuahua.
Animals that reproduce asexually include planarians, many annelid worms including polychaetes and some oligochaetes, turbellarians and sea stars. Many fungi and plants reproduce asexually.
In sharks, asexual reproduction commences via a birth mechanism dubbed 'automictic parthenogenesis'. It's a form of self-fertilisation that somehow mimics sexual reproduction.
Researchers have identified more than 500 fish species that regularly change sex as adults. Clown fish begin life as males, then change into females, and kobudai do the opposite. Some species, including gobies, can change sex back and forth. The transformation may be triggered by age, size, or social status.
Remember that technically, animals do not have “genders.” Gender typically references social and cultural differences rather than biological ones. Dogs are labeled male or female based solely on their sex, which is determined by reproductive anatomy and biological makeup.
An intersex animal is one possessing the characteristics of both sexes. Intersex animals, also called pseudohermaphrodites or hermaphrodites, are classified on the basis of their gonads.
Based on the sole criterion of production of reproductive cells, there are two and only two sexes: the female sex, capable of producing large gametes (ovules), and the male sex, which produces small gametes (spermatozoa).
Snails have a lot to think about when they make love—because they're hermaphrodites. Unlike you, garden snails can produce sperm like males and carry eggs like females at the same time.
Dogs reproduce sexually. That means that a male dog and a female dog must be involved.
…male horse is called a stallion, the female a mare. A stallion used for breeding is known as a stud. A castrated stallion is commonly called a gelding.
The term Duck applies to both masculine and feminine gender of the bird Duck. But more specifically, the fully sexually mature male duck of any duck species is called a 'Drake'.
In most cases, the females release eggs into the water and they are immediately fertilized by sperm from the male. In the wild, fish can easily reproduce when they sexually mature.
Two female ray fish have given birth to pups without a male ray fish being present in their ranks. The news has created quite a stir in scientific community and beyond. The female fish, named Nibble and Spot are at display at SEA Life Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium in Auckland, New Zealand.
Male seahorses not only become pregnant and give birth, but do so in ways that take different forms, which make them unique research subjects to understand the evolution of pregnancy, according to Dr Olivia Roth from the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) in Germany.
The Komodo dragon is the largest vertebrate animal known to reproduce asexually. Measuring about 10 feet long and weighing some 300 pounds, the Komodo dragon has been studied extensively for its interesting physiology and behavior.
Reproduction in sharks is equally varied: some lay eggs, but most give birth to live young. Sharks typically give birth after 11–12 months of pregnancy, but some, such as the frilled shark, are pregnant for more than three years. In some sharks, a placenta develops during pregnancy.
Six male sharks found by this researcher turned out to be pregnant.
In snakes, there is evidence of two naturally occurring modes of asexual reproduction. Obligatory parthenogenesis (OP) is found in exclusively parthenogenic species such as the Brahminy Blind Snake (Indotyphlops braminus) which have all-female populations [2].
Throughout their lifecycle, jellyfish take on two different body forms: medusa and polyps. Polyps can reproduce asexually by budding, while medusae spawn eggs and sperm to reproduce sexually.
Cockroaches, along with termites, snakes and sharks, have long been known to be capable of "virgin birth" or parthenogenesis, a form of asexual reproduction that occurs without fertilization.
Summertime comes with plenty of fun, and we all love tagging our furry friends along during those hot summer days. Unfortunately, this intense heat can cause your pets to overheat or even suffer a heatstroke. Unlike humans, dogs have a higher body temperature and less ability to cool down.