Sara MUA- BraveNewWorldProject: What is a hybrid?

A hybrid is something that consist of at least two different elements. We know hybrids especially from the flora and fauna.

I found these definitions on dictionary.com and they explain the word hybrid( when it comes to flora and fauna) quite well.

1.

the offspring of two animals or plants of different breeds, varieties,species, or genera, especially as produced through human manipulation for specific genetic characteristics.

2.

a person or group of persons produced by the interaction or crossbreeding of two unlike cultures, traditions, etc.

( dictionary.com)

Hybrids between different species tend to be sterile.

But a lot of people also think about cars when they hear the word hybrid. A hybrid car is being powered by an internal combustion engine(diesel, petrol) and an electronic motor. But now there are more than just hybrid cars. You can find this kind of combination also in ships, aircraft's and trains.

Some well known hybrid cars are:

the BMW i3 hatchback,

(source)

Volkswagen Golf hatchback

(source)

or the Toyota Prius hybrid hatchback.

(source)

But now more to hybrids in fauna in flora.

When it comes to hybrids in biology we distinguish between different types of hybrids.

There are the :

structural hybrids
permanent hybrids
genetic hybrids
numerical hybrids

But we can also differentiate between inter specific hybrids( hybrids between different species with same genus->lions,tiger), intra- specific hybrids (hybrids between subspecies within one species-> Siberian Tiger, Bengal Tiger), inter generic hybrids (hybrids between different genera, for instance sheep or goat), inter familial hybrids( are extremely rare and an example are gamebird hybrids -> these are a mixture between domestic poultry and different game birds (ex. ducks, goose)

Animal Hybrids

"Liger" / "Tigon" (depends on the species the father and mother was from-> for Ligers the father was a Lion and mother Tiger) -> Lion/Tiger