Some aspects of sexual polymorphism inChlorohydra viridissima

✍ Scribed by Stagni, Anna

• Book ID: 102334759
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1966
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 470 KB
• Volume: 163
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-104X
• DOI: 10.1002/jez.1401630108

✦ Synopsis

Protracted observations on a wild population of Chlorohydra viridissima revealed a sexual polymorphism, expressed by the occurrence all together of male, female and hermaphrodite specimens. The hermaphrodites were either simultaneous or protandrous or protogynous. Careful culturing of several clones under strictly identical environmental conditions strongly indicated a genetic basis of such differences and suggested a polyfactorial sex-determining system. Andro-, medio-and gyno-hermaphrodite clones, which more or less tended to shift towards pure male or pure female sex conditions, were detectable. Andro-and gyno-hermaphrodite clones showed less tendency to become sexual. Such a condition is typical of an "unbalanced hermaphroditism" which serves to maintain the species in a mainly hermaphrodite state.