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A hermaphrodite is an organism having both male and female reproductive organs.[1] In many species, hermaphroditism is a common part of the life-cycle, enabling a form of sexual reproduction in which partners are not separated into distinct male and female types of individual. Hermaphroditism most commonly occurs in invertebrates, although it is also found in some fish, and to a lesser degree in other vertebrates.
Historically, the term hermaphrodite has also been used to describe ambiguous genitalia and gonadal mosaicism in individuals of gonochoristic species, especially human beings. The term comes from the name of the minor Greek god Hermaphroditus, son of Hermes and Aphrodite (see below).
Recently, intersex has been used and preferred by many such individuals, encouraging medical professionals to use the term.[2]
Sequential hermaphrodites (dichogamy) occurs in species in which the individual is born as one sex but can later change into the alternate sex. This is in contrast with simultaneous hermaphrodites, in which an individual may possess fully functional male and female gonads. Sequential hermaphroditism is common in teleost fish, especially marine reef species. While some sequential hermaphrodites can change sex multiple times, most can only change sex once.
Sequential hermaphrodites fall into two broad categories:
A simultaneous hermaphrodite (or synchronous hermaphrodite) is an adult organism that has both male and female sexual organs at the same time. Usually, self-fertilization does not occur.
[tubepress mode=’tag’, tagValue=’Hermaphrodite’]