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Types of Identical Twins

"Half Identical" Twins: Polar Body Twins
"Half Identical" Twins: Polar Body Twins

Monozygotic (identical) twins come from a single fertilized egg that splits. But what if the egg splits and then each half meets a sperm? That's the proposed theory for polar body or "half-identical" twins, twins who are very much alike but aren't a 100 percent DNA match.

Boy/Girl Identical (Monozygotic) Twins
Boy/Girl Identical (Monozygotic) Twins

Two girl twins can be either identical or fraternal (monozygotic or dizygotic). Two boy twins can be either identical or fraternal (monozygotic or dizygotic). A set of boy/girl twins can only be fraternal (dizygotic). Boy/girl twins cannot be identical (monozygotic).

Conjoined Twins
Conjoined Twins

Conjoined twins are identical twins joined in utero. An extremely rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 49,000 births to 1 in 189,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southeast Asia and Africa. ...

Mirror-Image Twins
Mirror-Image Twins

Mirror twins—or mirror image twins—aren’t really a category of twins, like identical/monozygotic twins. Rather, the term “mirror twins” describes a characteristic of some twins, where their features appear asymmetrically -- that is, on opposite sides.

Parasitic Twins
Parasitic Twins

But parasitic twins are not to be confused with conjoined twins. Parasitic twins are characterized by one fully healthy individual with its parasite who is fully dependent on the health twin for substance and survival. Moreover, the parasitic twin can be joined at any part of the healthy twin.

Twins Conceived Separately: Superfetation
Twins Conceived Separately: Superfetation

Superfetation should not be confused with superfecundation, a term describing twins with different fathers. The timing is also different, with conception occurring on the same day or within a few days in the latter situation.

image: snipview.com
Twins With Different Fathers: Heteropaternal Superfecundation
Twins With Different Fathers: Heteropaternal Superfecundation

Monozygotic twins cannot have different fathers. However, fraternal twins are the result of hyperovulation, the release of multiple eggs in a single cycle. Superfecundation describes a situation where the eggs are fertilized by sperm from separate incidences of sexual intercourse. In a case where a woman has sex with different partners, the twins could have different fathers.

image: popsugar.com

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