Picture a peacock’s iridescent plumage or a lion’s glorious mane. In the animal kingdom, it is often the males of the species that are the more flamboyant ones, with bright colours and elaborate physical displays that help attract a mate. Sometimes, in the wild, gender lines are blurred. With females that turn into males, males that pretend to be female, creatures that are half male and half female, and species that don’t need a mate to reproduce, the animal kingdom shows us that gender fluidity is all around us. Here are four species with gender bending tricks that help them survive.
A master of disguise. A chameleon of the seas. The vibrant parrotfish is easily recognised by its bright colours and elaborate patterns, but these visual markings aren’t constant. Parrotfish change their colours and patterns throughout their life. Perhaps their most fascinating characteristic though, is that they change gender too. As they grow from juvenile fish to adults, some parrotfish have the ability to morph from female to male. Some species of parrotfish live in a cluster of females with a dominant male. If the dominant male dies, a female parrotfish changes gender to assume the role. See them when you go snorkelling or diving in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands or Lakshadweep.
‘Walking stick’ takes on a whole new meaning in the animal kingdom. The next time you see a twig moving, look closer. Maybe it’s just the wind, or maybe the twig has sprouted little legs, helping it move along the forest floor. Stick insects are superbly camouflaged amongst the twigs and branches they inhabit. They are commonly seen in the Western Ghats. These slender green or brown coloured insects are fascinating in their appearance and characteristics, like their ability to reproduce without mating. Certain species of stick insects can lay eggs without mating with a male, in a process known as parthenogenesis. The eggs produced by a solo female will always hatch into female stick insects, giving rise to a rather skewed gender ratio in the stick insect world.
For these non-venomous snakes, gender trickery is the name of the game. The mating season is a tough time for male garter snakes, when several dozens of them often have to compete for the affections of a lone female. Colourful, striped, or splotchy garter snakes attract mates using pheromones, but interestingly, the males of the species can secrete both male and female pheromones. When garter snakes emerge from hibernation, females release pheromones to attract a mate. Several males will swarm to the female, resulting in a huge, slithering snake pile. To beat the competition, some males will release female pheromones and draw away other male snakes from the pile of potential suitors. Once the confused snakes are distanced from the female, the tricky male will quickly attempt to mate with her.
Nature’s artistry is brilliantly illustrated in the bold colours and intricately patterned wings on display in the butterfly kingdom. Most butterflies are symmetric in appearance, with similar patterns on both their left and right wings. Have you ever spotted a butterfly with starkly different wings on each side? An asymmetrical butterfly with wings that differ in colour, pattern or size is a creature that is both male and female. Gynandromorphs have both male and female characteristics, and are sometimes found in the butterfly world. In most butterfly species, males and females differ in appearance, with distinctly shaped and patterned wings. Gynandromorph butterflies blur these lines. These rare creatures look like they have been split down the middle, and sport a distinct ‘male side’ and ‘female side’.
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