Is Hermaphrodiet a good personality?

In biology , a hermaphrodite is an organism that
has reproductive organs normally associated
with both male and female sexes .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”. For example, the great majority of
tunicates , pulmonate snails, opisthobranch snails
and slugs are hermaphrodites. Hermaphroditism
is also found in some fish species and to a
lesser degree in other vertebrates. Most plants
are also hermaphrodites.
Historically, the term hermaphrodite has also
been used to describe ambiguous genitalia and
gonadal mosaicism in individuals of
gonochoristic species, especially human beings.
The word intersex has come into preferred
usage for humans, since the word
hermaphrodite is considered to be misleading
and stigmatizing, as well as “scientifically
specious and clinically problematic”.
A rough estimate of the number of
hermaphroditic animal species is 65,000.
Since the estimated total number of animal
species is 8.6 million, the percentage of animal
species that are hermaphroditic is about 0.7%.
Arthropods are the phylum with the largest
number of species. Most hermaphroditic species
exhibit some degree of self-fertilization. The
distribution of self-fertilization rates among
animals is similar to that of plants, suggesting
that similar processes are operating to direct the
evolution of selfing in animals and plants
Sequential hermaphrodites (dichogamy ) occur in
species in which the individual is born as one
sex, but can later change into the opposite
sex. This contrasts simultaneous
hermaphrodites, in which an individual may
possess fully functional male and female
gonads. Sequential hermaphroditism is common
in fish (particularly teleost fish) and some
jellyfish, many gastropods (such as the common
slipper shell ), and some flowering plants. While
some sequential hermaphrodites can change
sex multiple times, most can only change sex
once. [citation needed ] Sequential
hermaphroditism can best be understood in
terms of behavioral ecology and evolutionary life
history theory , as described in the size-
advantage mode first proposed by Michael
T. Ghiselin which states that if an individual
of a certain sex could significantly increase its
reproductive success after reaching a certain
size, it would be to their advantage to switch to
that sex.
Sequential hermaphrodites can be divided into
three broad categories:
Protandry: Where an organism is born as a
male, and then changes sex to a female.
Example: The clownfish (genus
Amphiprion ) are colorful reef fish found living
in symbiosis with sea anemones. Generally
one anemone contains a ‘harem’, consisting
of a large female, a smaller reproductive
male, and even smaller non-reproductive
males. If the female is removed, the
reproductive male will change sex and the
largest of the non-reproductive males will
mature and become reproductive. It has been
shown that fishing pressure can change
when the switch from male to female occurs,
since fishermen usually prefer to catch the
larger fish. The populations are generally
changing sex at a smaller size, due to natural
selection .
Protogyny: Where the organism is born as a
female, and then changes sex to a male.
Example: wrasses (Family Labridae ) are a
group of reef fish in which protogyny is
common. Wrasses also have an uncommon
life history strategy, which is termed diandry
(literally, two males). In these species, two
male morphs exists: an initial phase male and
a terminal phase male. Initial phase males do
not look like males and spawn in groups with
other females. They are not territorial. They
are, perhaps, female mimics (which is why
they are found swimming in group with other
females). Terminal phase males are territorial
and have a distinctively bright coloration.
Individuals are born as males or females, but
if they are born males, they are not born as
terminal phase males. Females and initial
phase males can become terminal phase
males. Usually, the most dominant female or
initial phase male replaces any terminal
phase male when those males die or abandon
the group.
Bidirectional Sex Changers: where an
organism has female and male reproductive
organs, but act as either female or male during
different stages in life.
Example: Lythrypnus dalli (Family
Lythrypnus ) are a group of coral reef fish in
which bidirectional sex change occurs. Once
a social hierarchy is established a fish
changes sex according to its social status,
regardless of the initial sex, based on a
simple principle: if the fish expresses
subordinate behavior then it changes its sex
to female, and if the fish expresses dominant
or not subordinate behavior then the fish
changes its sex to male.
Dichogamy can have both conservation-related
implications for humans, as mentioned above, as
well as economic implications. For instance,
groupers are favoured fish for eating in many
Asian countries and are often aquacultured .
Since the adults take several years to change
from female to male, the broodstock are
extremely valuable individuals.
EARTHWORM AR HERMAPHRODIET
Earthworms are simultaneous
hermaphrodites, having both male and
female reproductive organs.
A simultaneous (or synchronous) hermaphrodite
(or homogamous) is an adult organism that has
both male and female sexual organs at the same
time. Self-fertilization often occurs.
Reproductive system of gastropods :
Pulmonate land snails and land slugs are
perhaps the best-known kind of simultaneous
hermaphrodite, and are the most widespread of
terrestrial animals possessing this sexual
polymorphism. Sexual material is exchanged
between both animals via spermatophore, which
can then be stored in the spermatheca . After
exchange of spermatozoa , both animals will lay
fertilized eggs after a period of gestation; then
the eggs will proceed to hatch after a
development period. Snails typically reproduce in
early spring and late autumn.
Banana slugs are one example of a
hermaphroditic gastropod. Mating with a partner
is more desirable biologically, as the genetic
material of the resultant offspring is varied, but if
mating with a partner is not possible, self-
fertilization is practiced. The male sexual organ
of an adult banana slug is quite large in
proportion to its size, as well as compared to the
female organ. It is possible for banana slugs,
while mating, to become stuck together. If a
substantial amount of wiggling fails to separate
them, the male organ will be bitten off (using the
slug’s radula), see apophallation . If a banana
slug has lost its male sexual organ, it can still
mate as a female, making its hermaphroditic
quality a valuable adaptation.
Hamlets, unlike other fish, seem quite at ease
mating in front of divers, allowing observations
in the wild to occur readily. They do not practice
self-fertilization, but when they find a mate, the
pair takes turns between which one acts as the
male and which acts as the female through
multiple matings, usually over the course of
several nights.
Earthworms are another example of a
simultaneous hermaphrodite. Although they
possess ovaries and testes, they have a
protective mechanism against self-fertilization.
Sexual reproduction occurs when two worms
meet and exchange gametes, copulating on
damp nights during warm seasons. Fertilized
eggs are protected by a cocoon, which is buried
on or near the surface of the ground.
The free-living hermaphroditic nematode
Caenorhabditis elegans reproduces primarily by
self-fertilization, but infrequent out-crossing
events occur at a rate of approximately 1%.
The mangrove killifish ( Kryptolebias
marmaratus ) is a species of fish that lives along
the east coast of North, Central and South
America. These fish are simultaneous
hermaphrodites. K. marmoratus produces eggs
and sperm by meiosis and routinely reproduces
by self-fertilization. Each individual
hermaphrodite normally fertilizes itself when an
egg and sperm produced by an internal organ
unite inside the fish’s body.
HUMAN BEING
Hermaphrodite is used in older literature to
describe any person whose physical
characteristics do not neatly fit male or female
classifications , but the term has been replaced
by intersex. Intersex describes a wide variety of
combinations of what are considered male and
female biology. Intersex biology may include, for
example, ambiguous-looking external genitalia,
karyotypes that include mixed XX and XY
chromosome pairs (46XX/46XY, 46XX/47XXY or
45X/XY mosaic).
Clinically, medicine currently describes intersex
people as having disorders of sex development ,
a term vigorously contested. This is
particularly because of a relationship between
medical terminology and medical
intervention. Intersex civil society
organizations, and many human rights
institutions, have criticized medical
interventions designed to make intersex bodies
more typically male or female.
Some people who are intersex, such as some of
those with androgen insensitivity syndrome,
outwardly appear completely female or male,
frequently without realizing they are intersex.
Other kinds of intersex conditions are identified
immediately at birth because those with the
condition have a sexual organ larger than a
clitoris and smaller than a penis.
Some humans were historically termed true
hermaphrodites if their gonadal tissue contained
both testicular and ovarian tissue, or
pseudohermaphrodites if their external
appearance (phenotype ) differed from sex
expected from internal gonads. This language
has fallen out of favor due to misconceptions
and pejorative connotations associated with the
terms, and also a shift to nomenclature
based on genetics.
Intersex is thought by some to be caused by
unusual sex hormones; the unusual hormones
may be caused by an atypical set of sex
chromosomes. One possible pathophysiologic
explanation of intersex in humans is a
parthenogenetic division of a haploid ovum into
two haploid ova. Upon fertilization of the two ova
by two sperm cells (one carrying an X and the
other carrying a Y chromosome), the two
fertilized ova are then fused together resulting in
a person having dual genitalial, gonadal
( ovotestes) and genetic sex . Another common
cause of being intersex is the crossing over of
the SRY from the Y chromosome to the X
chromosome during meiosis. The SRY is then
activated in only certain areas, causing
development of testes in some areas by
beginning a series of events starting with the
upregulation of SOX9 , and in other areas not
being active (causing the growth of ovarian
tissues ). Thus, testicular and ovarian tissues
will both be present in the same individual.
Fetuses before sexual differentiation are
sometimes described as female by doctors
explaining the process.This is technically
not true. Before this stage, humans are simply
undifferentiated and possess a Müllerian duct, a
Wolffian duct, and a genital tubercl