6 animals that can change their gender

The animal world is so amazing and diverse that, no matter how rich our imagination is, it will always fade before reality. Therefore, it can hardly seem strange the existence of animals that change their sex. Some do it "pretend", becoming only superficially similar to members of the opposite sex. Others take the matter seriously and truly transform from male to female or vice versa. Such animals in the scientific world are called consistent hermaphrodites. In nature, there are situations when it is beneficial to change sex. We will tell you about the most interesting cases.

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Cuttlefish

1. These amazing mollusks have been known to man since ancient times. Moreover, without their modest help, the development of art and science would have been impossible, because for a long time people wrote with cuttlefish ink. Artists and photographers know sepia, a brown color that in the past was also extracted from the secretion of the cuttlefish ink gland. It got its name from the Latin name of the mollusk - Sepia.

2. Cuttlefish are famous for their unique ability to disguise themselves, changing color almost instantly. Interestingly, male cuttlefish use this ability in the fight for a female. In the process of courtship, the male paints half of his body in the color of the nearby female, while the other half remains in the male suit. At the same time, he demonstrates his true appearance to the chosen one, and the potential rival sees a “female” in front of him. Thanks to this, the cunning significantly increases the chances of a happy marriage.

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Garter snakes

4. These relatives of our common snakes live in North America, from Canada to Mexico. In garter snakes, the time of love comes immediately after the end of hibernation. Barely waking up after a deep sleep, males are looking for females, forming around them "nuptial balls". At the same time, some male garter snakes begin to imitate the smell of females.

5. Why they do this has long been a mystery. Initially, it was assumed that the fragrant veil gives males some advantages in the struggle for the attention of the fair sex. And only recently, scientists have established that there is nothing romantic in such behavior. After hibernation, snakes need time to warm up and recover. At this time, they are slow, lethargic and represent easy prey for predators. Therefore, frozen males pretend to be females in order to receive protection and warmth in the form of a ball of passion-ridden brothers.

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spotted hyenas

9. Although outwardly the hyena is very similar to the representatives of the wolf family, in fact it is much closer to cats. Hyenas have long been known as the "bad guys". Even the ancient Greeks attributed to them the tendency to dig up graves in search of food, the ability to hypnotize with a glance and change their gender. From all this, there is some grain of truth in the points about the love of carrion and, oddly enough, the ability to change sex.

10. Hyenas are matriarchy: the dominant role in the pack is played by females, which are larger and more aggressive than males. The level of testosterone in their blood is so high that it was reflected in the appearance of the genitals: the labia have grown together, forming a kind of scrotum, and the clitoris is comparable in size to the penis of a male. The similarity with the male genital organs is so great that it is not so easy to distinguish a male from a female. By the way, it was because of this that the myth of the homosexuality of hyenas arose.

11. The meaning of this experiment of nature is still not clear, because due to the unusual structure of the genitals, the process of childbirth in hyenas is fraught with great difficulties and very often leads to the death of both mothers and babies.

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clown fish

15. Yes, the famous Nemo and his relatives can turn into females. Clownfish live in groups in which a strict hierarchy reigns. At the head is the dominant couple, which is responsible for the continuation of the family. The remaining members of the pack are males, and they restrain their growth and are significantly inferior in size to the leader so that he does not become jealous of his girlfriend.

16. In the event of the death of a breeding male, one of the “reserve players” takes his place. If misfortune happens to a female, then her ex-husband changes sex, and his, that is, already her, partner becomes the largest of the young males. So it would be not dad, but mom to really educate and look for Nemo.

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cleaner wrasse

19. Cleaner wrasses are literally prayed for by all marine predators: sharks, moray eels, tuna, mackerels, which suffer from skin parasites, especially in warm tropical waters.

20. Wrasses live in small groups on a certain section of the reef, where both local inhabitants and guests from the open ocean come to "sanitation". The fish ambulance team consists of one male and several females. Moreover, a stern foreman strictly monitors the quality of work, punishing negligent subordinates. So it is not surprising that every female wrasse dreams of becoming a male. The largest female of the harem has especially great chances for "dream come true", because it is she who will turn into a male and take the place of her husband in the event of his death.

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sea slipper

24. Native to North America, sea slippers Crepidula fornicata were accidentally brought to Europe in the late 19th century. Having no natural enemies here, these mollusks quickly spread, becoming a pest of oyster plantations.

25. Sea slippers lead a motionless lifestyle, forming “pyramid” colonies on stones and oyster shells. At the top of the pyramid are the youngest individuals, and these are always males. And the base is formed by age females. Sea slippers are born as males and then turn into females. Therefore, the mollusks from the middle part of the pyramid are at different stages of sex change.

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