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This Rare Spider Is Half-Female, Half-Male Split Down The Middle – Oh, And A New Species.....Their left side is female, the right side is male.
IFL Science ^ | October 08, 2025 | Tom Hale

Posted on 10/08/2025 10:42:21 AM PDT by Red Badger

This spider is a bilateral gynandromorph specimen, a rare organism whose two halves of the body appear to express different sexual characteristics.

Image courtesy of Varat Sivayyapram

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This pocket-sized new spider is rocking a unique look. Near perfectly split down the middle, its left legs are dark orange while its right is a whitish salt-and-pepper color. Remarkably, this is not just an aesthetic division: one side of the body is female and the other is male.

Scientists at Chulalongkorn University and Ubon Ratchathani University were recently surveying a forested area of Phanom Thuan in Western Thailand, not far from the capital, Bangkok, when they came across a new species of spider.

The species was particularly fascinating because it exhibited clear sexual dimorphism, a term used to describe when males and females of the same species appear visibly different.

Many animals show this trait, but the degree of difference varies widely. Consider the peacock, for example. The male has a flamboyant display of color and flashy feathers, while the female is comparatively plain. Or take the anglerfish, where the female is large and dominant, and the male is reduced to a shriveled, parasitic partner.

Another view of the bilateral gynandromorph specimen. Image courtesy of Surin Limrudee With the new species of spider, sexual dimorphism is very clear: females are predominantly a brown-orange color and males are a speckled white hue.

This difference was made wonderfully vivid when the team came across a member of the new species that was a bilateral gynandromorph whose two halves of the body appear to express different sexual characteristics.

Biological sex is determined by, among other things, the combination of sex chromosomes. For example, in humans and some other species, males have an X and a Y chromosome, while females have two X chromosomes. In insects, birds, and some other species, sex is determined by the combination of Z and W chromosomes, but we'll stick to X and Y in this explanation for simplicity's sake.

The new species of spider, Damarchus inazuma: A male (left) and a female (right). Image courtesy of Surin Limrudee

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It’s thought that the mechanisms leading to gynandromorphism occur during the earliest stages of development. Normally, as an organism’s cells divide, a male (XY) cell duplicates its chromosomes to form XXYY, then splits evenly into two XY cells. In gynandromorphs, however, this process goes slightly awry. Instead of dividing evenly, the cell may split into one X cell and one XYY cell, for example. If this occurs very early in development, large portions of the resulting organism can develop with both cell types, producing the remarkable half-male, half-female appearance seen in the specimen.

It’s a rare condition, but one that has been documented in dozens of species, from birds such as the rose-breasted grosbeak and northern cardinal to bugs like stick insects and nocturnal bees.

Since the spider is a new species, the researchers had the honor of giving it a scientific name. They called it Damarchus inazuma, named after a character from the Japanese manga “One Piece,” known for the ability to change sex between male and female.

The new study is published in the journal Zootaxa.


TOPICS: History; Outdoors; Pets/Animals; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: arachnophobia; chimerism; cryptobiology; godsgravesglyphs; ifhfakescience; spider; ziggystardust

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1 posted on 10/08/2025 10:42:21 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

Get him a rainbow flag


2 posted on 10/08/2025 10:43:28 AM PDT by albie
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To: Red Badger

Is it named “Lily Tino”?


3 posted on 10/08/2025 10:44:08 AM PDT by Morgana ( “Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women.” — Alice Paul 🇺🇸 )
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To: Red Badger

Soon to become a romcom.


4 posted on 10/08/2025 10:45:19 AM PDT by nickcarraway
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To: Red Badger

Probably not a species where the female devours the male after mating. Just a guess.


5 posted on 10/08/2025 10:47:01 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: albie

How convenient


6 posted on 10/08/2025 10:47:37 AM PDT by iamgalt
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To: Red Badger

Oh Great! More transgender crap.


7 posted on 10/08/2025 10:48:05 AM PDT by EvilCapitalist (Pets are no substitute for children)
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To: Red Badger

So it’s constantly invading itself? ;^)


8 posted on 10/08/2025 10:48:38 AM PDT by broken_clock (Go Trump! Prayers answered!)
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To: Red Badger

So after it mates it kills itself?

Not the best evolutionary strategy ...


9 posted on 10/08/2025 10:48:44 AM PDT by x
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To: Red Badger

So when it goes dancing, who leads?


10 posted on 10/08/2025 10:49:57 AM PDT by Larry Lucido (Donate! Don't just post clickbait.)
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To: Red Badger
females are predominantly a brown-orange color and males are a speckled white hue

The exact opposite of most couples in DEI commercials now where the male is brown and the female is white. LOL

11 posted on 10/08/2025 10:50:04 AM PDT by Tell It Right (1 Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: Red Badger

It can only parallel park to the right.


12 posted on 10/08/2025 10:50:07 AM PDT by central_va ( I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: Red Badger

Named Josephine Joseph after the old-time sideshow freak?


13 posted on 10/08/2025 10:51:21 AM PDT by HartleyMBaldwin
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To: x

Kinda limits the options a bit................


14 posted on 10/08/2025 10:51:23 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

So, the old saying: “Go F yourself” is possible in the animal kingdom after all?


15 posted on 10/08/2025 10:51:34 AM PDT by thinden (Buckle Up!)
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To: Red Badger

Don’t give it a rifle.


16 posted on 10/08/2025 10:53:06 AM PDT by Texas Eagle ("Throw me to the wolves and I'll return leading the pack"- Donald J. Trump)
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To: Larry Lucido

When dancing maybe the male leads. It looks like it has 5 legs and the female has 3.


17 posted on 10/08/2025 10:53:08 AM PDT by ladyjane
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To: Red Badger
…whose two halves of the body appear to express different sexual characteristics.

Is it named Glen or Glenda?


18 posted on 10/08/2025 10:54:17 AM PDT by mikey_hates_everything
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To: Red Badger

Let me guess. And it listens to Bad Bunny.


19 posted on 10/08/2025 10:55:06 AM PDT by Texas Eagle ("Throw me to the wolves and I'll return leading the pack"- Donald J. Trump)
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To: Red Badger
In gynandromorphs, however, this process goes slightly awry.

Awry? You are criticizing instead of celebrating! You are officially cancelled. Now take your exile to academic Siberia with quiet contrition or you might have to be CANCELLED.

20 posted on 10/08/2025 11:01:53 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (I pray that the sleeping giant has finally awakened and been filled with a terrible resolve.)
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