Whoops !!!

[Crappie Chatt]

#1 Hey Craig,,, what aboutDohDohDoh dis??? <*)}}}><
Unisex Crappie?

Hey folks, take a look at this crappie. I may be wrong about this but I don't think so. When I was cleaning this crappie I found it had both sex organs. Both are grossly undersized for this time of year too. You can see the milt on the carcass and in the body cavity, two small white pieces. And, you can see the very small deformed orange roe sack in the ribcage.

Quit Wish'in and Let's Go Fish'in
Darryl Morris
FAMILY FISHING TRIPS GUIDE SERVICE
501-844-5418 --- [email protected]

[Craig Johnson]

#1 Hey Craig,,, what aboutDohDohDoh dis??? <*)}}}><
Unisex Crappie?[INDENT]Hey folks, take a look at this crappie. I may be wrong about this but I don't think so. When I was cleaning this crappie I found it had both sex organs. Both are grossly undersized for this time of year too. You can see the milt on the carcass and in the body cavity, two small white pieces. And, you can see the very small deformed orange roe sack in the ribcage.

Chatt,

During my time with KDWP I have not seen or heard of anything similar to this in Kansas.

I contacted Tom Mosher, Sr. Fisheries Research Biologist, out of the the Emporia Research Office. Tom has over 35+ years with KDWP. Tom mentioned that a number of years ago a Kansas angler brought him a channel catfish that the angler believed to have both sex organs. Upon close inspection it was determined that the channel catfish was a female that had fat bodies lining the rib cage which gave the impression of the male testes. Tom said that it would be difficult to make the call from the photo and seeing the actual fish would be required before making a determination. It is not impossible for a crappie to possess both male and female reproductive organs, but it certainly isn't a common occurrence either.

[psilvers]

That is certainly possible. In some areas, hermaphrodites (i.e. fish that have both male and female sex organs) are more common and in those cases it is thought to occur because of some type of environmental contamination. BTW, this can also happen in humans.

Pete

[Blackdog40]

Probably caused by the radiation leak in Japan.

[jiggshooter]

something interesting to think about it is very much possible

[psilvers]

Yeah, I am originally from New York City. From what lots of folks told me to do, they must have thought that I was a hermaphrodite

On a serious note, a few years ago there were some reports of the feminization of some aquatic species. It seems that certain types of waste - I forget exactly what - can cause this. If I remember correctly, it may have been related to domestic sewage or pharmaceutical waste (excreted metabolites of estrogen products. I will have to try and Google it when I have time.

Pete