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Hence, the gonads are usually indicative of the biological sex. This direct correlation allows scientists and medical professionals the option to determine biological sex using gonads. When the purpose is to distinguish male vs. female in animals, this is sexing .
Sexual differentiation is the process of development of the sex differences between males and females from an undifferentiated zygote. [1] [2] Sex determination is often distinct from sex differentiation; sex determination is the designation for the development stage towards either male or female, while sex differentiation is the pathway towards the development of the phenotype.
A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland [1] is a mixed gland and sex organ that produces the gametes and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm. [2] The male gonad, the testicle, produces sperm in the form of spermatozoa. The female gonad, the ovary, produces egg cells
Orgyia antiqua male (left) and female (right) Common and easily identified types of dimorphism consist of ornamentation and coloration, though not always apparent. A difference in the coloration of sexes within a given species is called sexual dichromatism, commonly seen in many species of birds and reptiles. [4]
In some species, there are hermaphrodites, i.e., individuals that can function reproductively as either female or male. [2] There are also some species in which only one sex is present, temporarily or permanently. This can be due to parthenogenesis, the act of a female reproducing without fertilization.
Male primary sex characteristics are the penis, the scrotum and the ability to ejaculate when matured. Female primary sex characteristics are the vulva, vagina, uterus, fallopian tubes, cervix, and the ability to give birth and menstruate when matured. [1] Hormones that express sexual differentiation in humans include: estrogens such as estradiol
When a female dies a juvenile (male) anemone fish moves in, and "the resident male then turns into a female and reproductive advantages of the large female–small male combination continue". [22] In other fishes sex changes are reversible. For example, if some gobies are grouped by sex (male or female), some will switch sex. [14]: 164 [21]
In humans and many other species of animals, the father determines the sex of the child. In the XY sex-determination system, the female-provided ovum contributes an X chromosome and the male-provided sperm contributes either an X chromosome or a Y chromosome, resulting in female (XX) or male (XY) offspring, respectively.