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1 April 1994 True Hermaphroditism in a St. Lawrence Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas)
Sylvain De Guise, André Lagacé, Pierre Béland
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Abstract

A hermaphrodite beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) was found in the St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec, Canada. This animal had two testicles, two separate ovaries, and the complete ducts of each sex; cervix, vagina and vulva were absent. Mature spermatozoa were found in the lumen of seminiferous tubules in the testicles, and numerous involuted corpora lutea were recognized in the ovaries. This represents the first case of true hermaphroditism in a cetacean, and is the fourth hermaphrodite mammal with two testicles and two separate ovaries.

De Guise, Lagacé, and Béland: True Hermaphroditism in a St. Lawrence Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas)
Sylvain De Guise, André Lagacé, and Pierre Béland "True Hermaphroditism in a St. Lawrence Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas)," Journal of Wildlife Diseases 30(2), 287-290, (1 April 1994). https://doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-30.2.287
Received: 8 March 1993; Published: 1 April 1994
KEYWORDS
beluga whale
Delphinapterus leucas
True hermaphrodite
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