Hermaphrocrab!

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

This nicely compliments the Times article I was reading yesterday about gender and the brain.

"True, gender identity in the marine world isn't as simple as it is with humans. Some fish change gender during their lives. But this crab was probably half male, half female from the point of conception, according to Al Place, a geneticist with the University of Maryland's Center of Marine Biotechnology."

As simple? Hmm, methinks this is just furthre proof that gender isn't really simple period. This kind of split does, I believe, exist in the human species, though it's not as obvious to spot as a red and blue claw.

Love this kind of stuff.

Thanks, GD.

[wendybeth]

Both stories were intriguing and creepy, but the pic of the cat/s wins for sheer gross-outedness.

[Kevy Baby]

For those who didn't read the story, I shall share some of my favorite tidbits:

"bilateral gynandromorph"

A quick anatomy lesson: a jimmy's [male crab] bottom is shaped like the Washington Monument, and a sook's [female crab] bottom looks like the dome of the Capitol building.