Researchers find three major beetle groups coming up one testicle short
BERKELEY – A surprisingly large number of beetles are missing one of their testes, the male gonads of insects. As far as the researchers who discovered this can tell, the insects are not in any way bothered or impaired by this absence.
The discovery is striking because most animals are bilaterally symmetrical, which means the left and right sides of the body roughly mirror each other. This bilateralism extends to many internal organs, although some systems, such as the human heart and liver, develop or are positioned asymmetrically.
There are pictures.
Via Eurekalert.
3 comments:
Actualy birds often have asymmetrically developed testes-- and I think snakes too.
BTW yr email is down.
Snakes also have a "significantly reduced" lung, to allow them their body-shape.
Speaking of which, they're out in great numbers here in OR. Kate and I went walking yesterday and were surrounded by a hissing of Oregon red-spotted garter snakes, all looking very hungry--or amorous. Pretty creatures, and hypnotic to watch.
We found a nice knot of them, which we watched for a bit until it became apparent that we were disturbing the couple (although the way they were intertwined it might have been any number from one up). We left them to their writhing.
No idea about the e-mail; I'll fiddle with it today.
Asymmetry is such a nice example of the willingness of Nature to use anything, so long as it works. Were we all Neo-Platonists, we'd probably find it appalling.
Hmm. RE: e-mail, others seem to be doing all right, although attachments are dropping out and I can't be sure that mine are reaching you. If not, go to
http://www.bayerische.staatsoper.de/upload/streammedia.php?file=200502%2Fmedia42172d5d4627c.wmv/play.asx
are prepare for something truly Teutonic. Swiped from bloglet. It's like the second half of Faust, only more so.
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