Extremely rare half-male, half-female spider discovered in Thailand

Thai researchers have just discovered a previously unknown species of spider in the country's forests, including a spider that is half male and half female.

A new half-male, half-female spider was discovered in Thailand - Photo: YAHOO NEWS

A research team at the Entomology Center of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok (Thailand) has discovered a previously unknown spider species hiding in the forests of western Thailand, according to Yahoo News on October 17.

Remarkably, there is an extremely rare hermaphrodite spider that is half male and half female.

The team named the new spider species Damarchus inazuma , after the character Inuzama — who possesses the ability to transform between female and male forms — in the popular Japanese manga series One Piece .

According to the research team, Damarchus inazuma has striking morphological differences between the two sexes. Females are larger, about 2.5cm long, with a distinctive orange color, while males are half the size and are whitish-grey.

Among the orange and gray-white Damarchus inazuma spiders found was a strange one that was half orange and half gray-white. Scientists examined it and found it had a rare form of gynandromorphism (an error in the early division of sex chromosomes).

Gynandromorphs differ from common hermaphrodites - being able to reproduce on their own or mate with both sexes is a normal biological trait of the species, not a defect.

The study was published in the journal Zootaxa .

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/phat-hien-nhen-nua-duc-nua-cai-chua-tung-thay-tai-thai-lan-20251017113242068.htm