Intersexes in Gammarus Chevreuxi and Related Forms

Extract

Since 1912 extensive investigations have been carried on in the Laboratory of the Marine Biological Association at Plymouth on the genetics of Gammarus Chevreuxi Sexton, a brackish-water amphipod (Allen and Sexton '17 and '20, see also Sexton '13 and Sexton and Matthews '13).

During the course of the work, numerous individuals have appeared showing abnormalities in sexual behaviour or structure. In view of the interest attaching to such forms, especially after the work of Goldschmidt ('20), Banta ('16), Sturtevant ('20) and others, it was deemed advisable to collate and publish the available data in spite of their some what fragmentary character.

In normal circumstances, the males of Gammarus chevreuxi mate with the females some days (3 to 9 days) before fertilisation is due to take place. Unless the female is mated for the first time she will normally be carrying in her brood-pouch a brood of developing embryos. After hatching, the young are carried about 24 hours before extrusion, and during that time they come to the anterior end of the brood-pouch and feed on what the mother is eating. Finally they are extruded by a voluntary opening of the brood-pouch. Immediately afterwards the female moults, whereupon fertilisation occurs and a new batch of eggs is extruded into the pouch.

The pair have by now separated, and remain separated usually until the embryos have gone through about half their development in the pouch.

Cannibalism is of fairly frequent occurrence, the male eating the female immediately after she has moulted. It is extremely rare for the normal female to eat a male.