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Description
Heteropods are gonochoric, which means they have two biological sexes that can be defined as "male" and "female". Like all gonochoric life forms, male and female Heteropods have reproductive organs that, while homologous in structure, serve very different functions. Males have testicles for producing sperm-like gametes while females have ovaries that produce oocytes (egg cells), and a zygote is created when the latter is fertilized by the former.

Unlike virtually all other terrestrial animals on Athyrmagaia , which possess a cloaca where both waste and gametes are secreted, obligately terrestrial Heteropod clades have a fully separated anus and gonopore. In both male and female Heteropods, the outer reproductive tract and associated gonopore are housed within a specialized ventral tail lobe called a "genital tail". The genital tail is a very unique and highly versatile structure, and its use varies depending on the sex of the animal. Males use their genital tail as a penis for internal fertilization, and the shape and look can vary depending on the sex positions of a given species. Females, on the other hand, use it as an ovipositor for laying their eggs. In some species of Pachyalatans, the female's genital tail bears a keratinized tip for boring nests into the hard, plastic-like bark of Olekirkophytes .

Description
Heteropods are gonochoric, which means they have two biological sexes that can be defined as "male" and "female". Like all gonochoric life forms, male and female Heteropods have reproductive organs that, while homologous in structure, serve very different functions. Males have testicles for producing sperm-like gametes while females have ovaries that produce oocytes (egg cells), and a zygote is created when the latter is fertilized by the former.

Unlike virtually all other terrestrial animals on Athyrmagaia , which possess a cloaca where both waste and gametes are secreted, obligately terrestrial Heteropod clades have a fully separated anus and gonopore. In both male and female Heteropods, the outer reproductive tract and associated gonopore are housed within a specialized ventral tail lobe called a "genital tail". The genital tail is a very unique and highly versatile structure, and its use varies depending on the sex of the animal. Males use their genital tail as a penis for internal fertilization, and the shape and look can vary depending on the sex positions of a given species. Females, on the other hand, use it as an ovipositor for laying their eggs. In some species of Pachyalatans, the female's genital tail bears a keratinized tip for boring nests into the hard, plastic-like bark of Olekirkophytes .