A chimera in classical mythology was a fantastic and monstrous being that was made up of parts of various animals. He had the head of a lion, the tail of a dragon and the torso of a goat. This mythological entity gave name to a real phenomenon, chimerism or microchimerism which we already talked about in Supercurioso. On this occasion we wanted to introduce you 5 Chimerical animals, real examples of this alteration that will surely amaze you.
Currently, chimerism is considered a genetic disorder that occurs when two ovules, after fertilization , they unite into one and develop normally as if they were a single individual. The fusion must be done before three weeks and in the cases studied, the resulting living being has different DNA in the cells of some organs, that is, it has double genetic material.
5 Chimeric animals
The first case is that of a cat that has an incredible appearance. It looks like the result of a photoshop. Not only his coat is bicolor, but his eyes are also different shades.
The second of these chimeric animals He is a budgie. One half blue and the other green.
In third place we present you a bicolor rabbit! Awesome!
The fourth of these chimeric animals It is a lobster that presents two well differentiated tonalities. One part is dark and the other orange.
Fifth, a horse that has on its skin what is known as "mosaic". According to scientists, in this case it is produced by chimerism.
To finish, one last image of feline with chimerism. Spectacular!
Chimerism is not just a genetic disorder that can lead to these interesting and colorful specimens in the animal world, but it can present serious problems for people. One of the most famous cases was that of a mother who was fighting for the custody of her children, whom they accused of having stolen them. The samples of the mother's DNA, extracted from the blood, did not match those of her offspring, which is why she was removed from custody and she ended up in jail accused of kidnapping and trying to make a profit from it. Finally, the case was resolved by analyzing the DNA of the maternal grandmother and that it coincided with that of the children. The mother was a case of chimerism.
What do you think about these 5 chimeric animals ? Did you know that nature could produce such fantastic beings? Do you know more cases of chimeric animals ? If you have been interested in this post, you may want to approach other amazing colorful animals by reading these articles:
- The Pink Dolphin an awesome creature | 10 Curiosities about him
- The Purple Snail | 10 Curiosities of this incredible color animal
- The Panda Ant | 15 Curiosities of a very rare animal
- Dendrobates tinctorius, the dangerous blue frog
- Poecilotheria metallica, the amazing and beautiful blue tarantula