"I wanted to take my kids on a nice day out where they may learn something and the saw that. It was obscene" said outraged mother Myleen Carraway. "If this is educational I won't be letting my Jason and Condoleeza read another book."
Museum director, Pericles Liebknicht dismissed claims of obscenity: *Children need to see the world in all of its diversity and if that means them seeing a gynandromorph then so be it."
The Mormon in question refused to comment but it can be revealed that it is a butterfly with a a 10cm wingspan, that is male on one side and female on the other.
It is almost black on its male side, but much paler, with clearly visible flecks of blue, red and tortoiseshell on the female side. The butterfly has one antenna longer than the other, a single male clasp on its abdomen, and male and female reproductive organs that had fused down the middle.
The butterfly hatched two weeks ago during the Sensational Butterflies exhibition that runs at the museum until September.
"It's an amazing butterfly. The split is purely bilateral – even the colour of one side of its body is slightly different," said exhibition manager Luke Brown, "It has half-male, half-female sexual organs welded together. So they don't work, it is infertile."
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Brown, who has seen only two other gynandromorphs in his career, said the butterfly was feeding and flying well, and was expected to have a normal life expectancy of around one month. The specimen will become part of the museum's lepidoptera collection.
Blanca Huertas, curator of butterflies at the museum, said: "The gynandromorph butterfly is a fascinating scientific phenomenon, and is the product of complex evolutionary processes. It is fantastic to have discovered one hatching on museum grounds, particularly as they are so rare.'
It is almost black on its male side, but much paler, with clearly visible flecks of blue, red and tortoiseshell on the female side. The butterfly has one antenna longer than the other, a single male clasp on its abdomen, and male and female reproductive organs that had fused down the middle.
The butterfly hatched two weeks ago during the Sensational Butterflies exhibition that runs at the museum until September.
"It's an amazing butterfly. The split is purely bilateral – even the colour of one side of its body is slightly different," said exhibition manager Luke Brown, "It has half-male, half-female sexual organs welded together. So they don't work, it is infertile."
.
Brown, who has seen only two other gynandromorphs in his career, said the butterfly was feeding and flying well, and was expected to have a normal life expectancy of around one month. The specimen will become part of the museum's lepidoptera collection.
Blanca Huertas, curator of butterflies at the museum, said: "The gynandromorph butterfly is a fascinating scientific phenomenon, and is the product of complex evolutionary processes. It is fantastic to have discovered one hatching on museum grounds, particularly as they are so rare.'
3 comments:
I find it quite fascinating and can't see anything to complain about.
Ah in the spirit of a Murdoch paper I made up the first part Cherie!
Absolutely!
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