VIII.—A Case of Intersexuality in Bos indicus, with a Theory of the Significance of the Genetic Male Intersex

Abstract

The Ceylon trotting bull, a small but fast animal, is regarded as a variety of its larger Indian relative, the Zebu, Bos indicus. The case, furnishing the basis of this account, was brought to my notice after the animal had died, so there is no direct evidence regarding its reactions to males and females of the same species. But I am told that although it had been kept for many years in a field with mature cows and bulls it had shown no reaction towards either. Very little is known about the early history of the animal beyond the fact that it was considered to be about seven years old. Nothing is known of its parentage, and as these trotting or racing animals change hands many times in Ceylon, it is impossible to discover whether it had been a twin calf. The animal died of tetanus, and until a fortnight before its death it had been healthy, and, I believe, the winner of many prizes for racing.