Twins of different race?

December 3, 2005 7:20 AM

I am looking for a picture and scholarly reference to twins with different fathers where one father is white and one father is black.

The phenomenon of twins with different parents is called heteropaternal superfecundation, and is well cited, but this picture, while often referenced, is elusive...

posted by brevator to Science & Nature (9 answers total)

Best answer: One photo. And another.
posted by naomi at 7:33 AM on December 3, 2005

Response by poster: muchos gracias
posted by brevator at 7:42 AM on December 3, 2005

Wow, did you see the article in the first link about the chinese baby with two brains?
posted by duck at 9:25 AM on December 3, 2005

Article? There were words below that pictures of the two amazingly hot chicks? ;-)

Actually, this stuff is really interesting - it stretches my definition of twins somewhat, but that's what's amazing about it!
posted by benzo8 at 10:33 AM on December 3, 2005

I actually saw the story about the Dutch twins on Dateline. They named the darker-skinned kid Koen, short for Conrad as the article points out. But... it's pronounced "coon." I mean, they're Dutch, it's perfectly innocuous in their country, but still, it was a bit of a shock to American ears to hear doting parents referring to their half-black son using what seemed to be a racial epithet.
posted by kindall at 10:46 AM on December 3, 2005

I didn't know such a situation could exist. Thanks for asking and thanks for the photos! Awsome!

But really, is this the result of two sperm meeting with one egg? Fascinating!
posted by snsranch at 4:01 PM on December 3, 2005

...is this is result of two sperm meeting with one egg? — snsranch, above

Well, almost. According to the Wikipedia entry:

Superfecundation is the fertilisation of two or more ova from the same cycle by sperm from separate acts of sexual intercourse. The term is also sometimes used to refer to the instances of two different males fathering fraternal twins, though this is more accurately known as heteropaternal superfecundation. This therefore leads to the possibility of twins also being half-siblings. (emphasis added)

Wild.
posted by rob511 at 5:02 PM on December 3, 2005

My Dutch friend's son is named Coen (Koen). But it sounds more like "Ku-en" than "Coon".
posted by acoutu at 9:05 PM on December 3, 2005

To English-speaking ears, "Ku-en" sounds like "Coon" with a weird accent.
posted by kindall at 11:58 AM on December 4, 2005