REMARKABLE HYBRID ANIMALS

BLOOD PARROT CICHLID

Also known as parrot cichlid and bloody parrot, the blood

parrot cichlid is a hybrid of the midas, a large cichlid fish 

endemic to Costa Rica and Nicaragua and the readhead cichlid.

As this hybrid has various anatomical deformities including a

very small mouth opening that makes the fish vulnerable

to malnutrition, controversy exists over the ethics of

creating this fish.

MULARD DUCK

The mulard (or moulard) is a domestic duck hybrid of Pekin 

and muscovy ducks. Commercially produced on farms for

meat and foie gras, the mulard is not just a hybrid between

different species, but even between different genera. Mulards

can be created by mating male muscovies with female pekins,

but mostly, they are produced by artificial insemination.

GEEP

Also known as shoat, the geep is the hybrid offspring of a 

sheep and a goat. Although these two species seem similar

and can be mated, they belong to different genera in the

subfamily Caprinae of the family Bovidae. Despite widespread

shared pasturing of goats and sheep, hybrids are very rare

and the offspring of a sheep-goat pairing is usually stillborn.

BLACK-TIP HYBRID SHARK

Just a few years ago, the very first hybrid shark was discovered

in Australian waters. A combination of Australian black-tip shark

and its global counterpart, the common black-tip shark, the

hybrid shark appears to be a strong and robust shark. Scientists

suggest the two species might have interbred to gain

better adaption skills.

RHINO HYBRID

Interspecific hybridization has been confirmed between the black

and the white rhinoceros. New studies suggest it is possible

that these species are kept separate by geographical

boundaries rather than genetic differences. Native to Africa,

the black rhino is classified as critically endangered and three

 of its subspecies were already declared extinct.

RED-GREY KANGAROO

Some kangaroo hybrids between similar species have been

achieved by housing males of one species and females

of the other together to limit the choice of mate. To create a

natural macropod hybrid, young animals of one species have

been transferred to the pouch of another so as to imprint into

them the other species. This hybrid was created by mixing

the Red Kangaroo and the Great Grey Kangaroo.

KILLER BEE

Killer bees were created in an attempt to breed tamer and

more manageable bees. This was done by crossing the 

European honey bee and the African bee, but instead the

offspring became even more aggressive and highly defensive

bees which escaped into the wild in Brazil in 1957. Since then,

they have spread throughout all South, Central and North America.

HYBRID IGUANA

Hybrid iguana is a hybrid resulting from natural interbreeding

between male marine iguanas and female land iguanas 

since the late 2000’s. The marine iguana is an iguana found

only on the Galapagos Islands that has the ability, unique

among modern lizards, to forage in the sea, making

it the only extant marine reptile.