What is it with sea slugs? Each month it seems scientists uncover a new behavior that is stranger than the last. Yesterday NewScientist reported that researchers have found a species, Siphopteron quadrispinosum, that is not only a hermaphrodite, but it’s a simultaneous hermaphrodite, which means it has male and female sexual organs and can use both at once.
It all gives new meaning to a “sexual tryst.”
Now we can add the hermaphrodite to our sea-slug menagerie that includes:
Elysia Chlorotica: A Sap-Sucking, Solar-Powered Sea Slug from on FORA.tv
The Evolution of Aeolidina: Sea Slug Turns Prey to Poison from on FORA.tv
Image courtesy of Lange R, Gerlach T, Beninde J, Werminghausen J, Reichel V, et al./PLoS ONE
