Occurrence of Intersex in Grey Mullet, Mugil cephalus L. from Kovalam Coast, Tamil Nadu

The present study documents the occurrence of an intersex condition in a natural population of mullet Mugil cephalus L. On closure examination of the dissected fish, 11 females and 7 males were recorded. Histological observations through the testes indicated that one of the male fish showed different developmental stages of oocytes in between the seminiferous tubules. Interestingly, the condition reported here did not show any internal bilateral division of the reproductive system into male and female components. But it had shown the occurrence of oocytes and spermatozoa throughout the entire region of the testis of a functional male. The observation of intersex testis or testicular oocytes (TO) is of first report from the east coast of India. The fish being catadromous, this condition may be related to possible accumulation of chemical contaminants in the habitat water.