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NUMBER: 20221107
SPECIES: Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896[1]
COLLECTION: Commercial crabbing by Craig Miller
BILATERAL GYNANDROMORPH: Half male (Fig. A, Left), half female apron (Right), blue-tipped male claw (left), and red-tipped (female) claw (right).[2] Lemaitre and Reed (2013) noted 3 bilateral gynandromorph (half female, half male) specimens from Virginia in 1979, Chesapeake Bay (Otto, 1979), and northern Gulf of Mexico in 2005, (Louisiana?). Only one was scientifically reported (Otto, 1979). Cargo (1980) noted 1 from Chesapeake Bay; Johnson and Otto (1981) found normal female and male organs and that the specimen bred as a female and as a male; Fahrenthold (2005) reported 1 from Gwynns Island, lower Chesapeake Bay, 21 May 2005; Pollitt (2021) reported 1 from Chesapeake Bay. Thus far 7 specimens have been reported, 5 from Chesapeake Bay, 1 from nearby in Virginia, and 1 from the northern Gulf of Mexico, possibly Louisiana. The number in Chesapeake Bay is skewed by the intense fishing pressure, attention, and interest there. Two other species of crabs, other crustaceans, butterflies, and birds are known to have this condition.
LOCALITY: Wye River, Maryland
LATITUDE, LONGITUDE: 38.87051, -76.17717
DATE: 7 November 2022
PHOTOGRAPH: Craig Miller
OBSERVERS: Craig Miller,[9] Michael J. Dowgiallo,[9] Ernest H. Williams, Jr. [3,4,6,7] and Lucy Bunkley-Williams[3,5,6,8]
REFERENCES:
<>Cargo, D. G. 1980. A bisexual Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, from the Chesapeake Bay. American Midland Naturalist 104: 378-482.
<>Fahrenthold, D. H. 2005. Part male, part female, fully mysterious. The Washington Post, 16 June.
<>Johnson, P. T. and S. V. Otto. 1981. Histology of a Bilateral Gynandromorph of the Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun (Decapoda: Portunidae). Biological Bulletin 161: 236-245.
<>Lemaitre, R. and K. Reed. 2013. Rare “half female, half male” blue crab donated to Invertebrate Zoology. Department of Invertebrate Zoology News, U. S. National Museum. https://nmnh.typepad.com/no_bones/2013/02/rare-half-female-half-male-blue-crab-donated-to-invertebrate-zoology.html
<> Otto S. V. 1979. Rare condition found in a Chesapeake Bay blue crab. Commercial Fisheries News (Maryland Department of Natural Resources) 12(5): 1.
<>Pollitt, R. 2021. Rare Blue Crab – half male, half female – on display at Delmarva Discovery Museum. Salisbury Daily Times, 25 May.
<>Williams, E. H., Jr. and L. Bunkley-Williams. 2021. The first report of an Albino/Blue Bi-hemispheric Chimera Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, chimera. iNaturalist #93671783, ResearchGate, 4 September 2021 (open access) [602].
<>Williams, E. H., Jr., C. Miller, M. J. Dowgiallo, L. Bunkley-Williams. 2022.[1] Bilateral gynandromorph (half female half male) of Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, in Maryland. iNaturalist #141401841, ResearchGate, 7 November 2022 (open access) [710].
<>Williamson, D. I. 2013. Larvae, lophophores, and chimeras in classification. Cell and Developmental Biology 2: 128 (9 pp., open access).
FOOTNOTES:
[1]Identification was peer-reviewed, text edited and condensed. The entire, original text is in our available reprint [710]. [2]A genetic chimera is a single organism composed of cells with more than one distinct genotype. In animals, this means an individual derived from two or more zygotes, which can include possessing subtle variations in form (phenotype). Animal chimeras are produced by the merger of multiple fertilized eggs. Often considered minor curiosities, but Williamson (2013) considers them responsible for the origins of major groups of animals. [3]Extraordinary Professors, Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University, South Africa; Adjunct Professors, Research Field Station, Florida Gulf Coast University, 5164 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, FL 34134; [4]Dept. Marine Sciences, University of Puerto Rico (retired); [5]Dept. Biology, UPR (retired); [6]920 St. Andrews Blvd, Naples, FL 34113-8943; [7]e-mail ermest.williams1@upr.edu; cell 239-227-3645, ORCID 0000-0003-0913-3013; [8]Cell 787-467-2179, e-mail lucy.williams1@upr.edu, ORCID 0000-0003-1390-911x; [9] Maryland, USA.

Figure 1. Bilateral gynandromorph (half female half male) of Blue Crab