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The Gonadal and Adenohypophysial Functions of Natural Sex Reversal

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Book cover Intersexuality in the Animal Kingdom

Abstract

Hermaphroditism is not uncommon among the lower vertebrates, especially in teleosts which exhibit the most diversified expressions of sex, with all types of intersexuality and hermaphroditism (Atz, 1964). Natural sex reversal is generally referred to as hermaphroditism functional in time, i.e. an organism functions both as female and as male in its life history, but at any one time it would function only as one sex. An intersexual stage invariably occurs during transformation and is always transitional (Chan, 1970). In view of the fact that in many protogynous forms (including Monopterus) the presumptive male germ cells pre-exist before the onset of change, natural sex reversal, or sex inversion (Reinboth, 1970), is in reality a natural biological process of sequential maturation of the female and male gonadal sex in succession, relating to the gonadal ontogeny and life history (Chan, 1970; Chan et al., 1972).

Supported by a Research Grand on Sex Determination from the Nuffield Foundation, London

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Authors
  1. S. T. H. Chan
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  2. Wai-sum O
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  3. S. W. B. Hui
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Zoologie, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, D-65, Mainz, Saarstraße 21, Germany

    Rudolf Reinboth

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Chan, S.T.H., O, Ws., Hui, S.W.B. (1975). The Gonadal and Adenohypophysial Functions of Natural Sex Reversal. In: Reinboth, R. (eds) Intersexuality in the Animal Kingdom. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-66069-6_20

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