Gynandromorphs

Gynandromorphs are individuals that contains both male and female characteristics. The cause of this phenomenon is typically, but not always, an event in mitosis during early development. While the organism contains only a few cells, one of the dividing cells does not split its sex chromosomes typically. This leads to one of the two cells having sex chromosomes that cause male development and the other cell having chromosomes that cause female development.

Photo Gallery

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  Polyrhachis lamellidens male-worker mosaic. The left half of body is primarily male while the right half is largely worker-like but with a mosaic of male characters. The head is mainly male but with small sections worker-like (right mandible and right side above mandibular insertion). Most of the right side of the mesosoma, petiole and gaster are worker-like.
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  Polyrhachis lamellidens male-worker mosaic.
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  Myrmecia pavida male-worker mosaic‎. Found in a laboratory colony of a German antkeeper. Males in this species are not completely black like most other ant males but are brownish like workers and gynes. So the male "half" (right) is brown except for its gaster which is black as in the worker "half".
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  Myrmecia pavida male-worker head‎.
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  Myrmecia pavida ergatandromorph head, z-stack
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  Cataglyphis gynandromorph. The right side is male, the left queen. Collected by F. Mattheis in Morocco. Provided by Phil Honle.
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  Cataglyphis gynandromorph. The right side is male, the left queen. Collected by F. Mattheis in Morocco. Provided by Phil Honle.

References

• Adlerz, G. 1908. Zwei Gynandromorphen von Anergates atratulus Schenck. Ark. Zool. 5(2 2: 1-6).
• Campos, A.E.C., Kato, L.M., Zarzuela, M.F.M. 2011. Occurrence of different gynandromorphs and ergatandromorphs in laboratory colonies of the urban ant, Monomorium floricola. Journal of Insect Science 11(17): 1-10.
• Crawley, W. C. 1920d. A gynandromorph of Monomorium floricola, Jerd. Entomol. Rec. J. Var. 32: 217-218. (page 217, gynandromorph described)
• Donisthorpe, H. 1914b. Three myrmecological notes. Entomol. Rec. J. Var. 26: 136-138. (page 136, gynandromorph described)
• Donisthorpe, H. 1915d. Descriptions of a pterergate and two gynandromorphs of Myrmica scabrinodis Nyl., with a list of all the known cases of the latter. Entomol. Rec. J. Var. 27: 258-260 (page 258, gynandromorph described)
• Heinze, J.; Trenkle, S. 1997. Male polymorphism and gynandromorphs in the ant Cardiocondyla emeryi. Naturwissenschaften 84: 129-131.
• Kinomura, K., Yamauchi. K. 1994. Frequent occurrence of gynandromorphs in the natural populations of the ant Vollenhovia emeryi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insectes Sociaux 41: 273-278.
• Morley, D.W. 1946. Ant gynandromorphs and other mosaics. Nature 157, 741–742 (doi:10.1038/157741a0).
• Wheeler, W. M. 1903h. Some new gynandromorphous ants, with a review of the previously recorded cases. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 19: 653-683
• Wheeler, W. M. 1914a. Gynandromorphous ants described during the decade 1903-1913. Am. Nat. 48: 49-56.
• Wheeler, W. M. 1919a. Two gynandromorphous ants. Psyche (Camb.) 26: 1-8.
• Wheeler, W. M. 1924d. A gynandromorph of Tetramorium guineense Fabr. Psyche (Camb.) 31: 136-137.
• Wheeler, W. M. 1931c. Concerning some ant gynandromorphs. Psyche (Cambridge) 38:80-85.
• Wheeler, W. M. 1937c. Mosaics and other anomalies among ants. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 95 pp.
• Yang, A.S., Abouheif, E. 2011. Gynandromorphs as indicators of modularity and evolvability in ants. Journal of Experimental Zoolology (Molecular and Developmental Evolution) 316: 313–318 (doi:10.1002/jez.b.21407).