Identical Twins Don’t Have Identical Fingerprints, Even from Birth

Today I found out that no two people in this world have identical fingerprints, not even identical twins.

You would expect identical twins to have the same fingerprints as they are monozygotic, which means that they develop when a single fertilized egg splits in two, leading to two embryos. As they both came from the combination of the same egg and sperm, these twins have virtually indistinguishable DNA.

So why aren’t their fingerprints identical from birth? Fingerprints are not entirely a genetic characteristic. They are a part of a ‘phenotype’ which means they are determined by the interaction of an individual’s genes and the intrauterine environment (differing hormonal levels, nutrition, blood pressure, position in the womb and the growth rate of the fingers at the end of the first trimester).

Minor differences in fingerprints arise from random local events during fetal development. The genes determine the general characteristics of the patterns of fingerprints. However, inside the uterus, finger tissue comes in contact with the amniotic fluid, other parts of the fetus and the uterus. Some experts point out, for example, that touching amniotic fluid during weeks 6-13 of pregnancy significantly changes the patterns of fetus’s fingerprints.

Overall, identical twins’  fingerprints tend to be similar, but there always will be subtle differences making even their fingerprints unique.

Bonus Facts:

  • Before modern genetic testing became common, the similarity of twins’ fingerprints was used to determine whether they were identical or fraternal.
  • The odds of having identical twins is about 3 in 1,000, whereas the birthrate for all twins is about 32.2 in 1,000 and there is no known hereditary trait that influences a predisposition to having identical twins. Birth rates for identical twins are fairly consistent and are the virtually the same regardless of race, geography or maternal age.
  • Identical twins lose some fundamental similarities as they grow older. This will reflect in their looks, behavior and diseases they are prone to. The reason for these differences as they grow are changes in the epigenome, which refers to chemical modifications in genes that don’t directly affect a gene’s DNA but result in changes in gene expression. All people build up these mutations over time.  These epigenetic affects may be caused by exposure to chemicals, physical activity levels, aging, dietary habits and other environmental factors. That is why in middle and old age identical twins tend to look more like non-identical twins.
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47 comments

  • o3o…aren’t those finger prints exactly the same…
    looks liek the bottom one is just the tpoe one unside down and negative..

  • WOW who knew!!!

  • no there not the same you idiot and one is not negative the border color makes it look it but ANYONE who has a brain knows its an optical illusion of sorts…

  • No offence, but I knew that when I was about six?

  • C’mon… of COURSE not even identical twins’ fingerprints are alike. Third grade Health, my brotha!

  • haha tell me why i know those chicks

  • I think the more important observation si that both girls are absolutely stunning

  • Quran tells that us about 1400 years ago…

    3. Does man think that We cannot assemble his bones?

    4. Nay, We are able to put together in perfect order the very tips of his fingers.

    Quran Part: 75. The Resurrection (Al-Qiyámah)

  • These two fingerprints are EXCATLY the same. One has been inverted and fliped. Take a closer look. I Tell you people so Shame292 you are now the Idiot….

  • Yes that fingerprint is the same one in both boxes, one fliped and negative of the other, but it’s just illustrative dude, it’s not theirs.
    And the most important, yes, they are absolutely stunning.

  • SaharaGoddess

    Its really sad that this is a new phenomena to the writer. This is genetics 101 otherwise noone would be able to tell the difference between identical twins and people could be sent to jail wrongfully for crimes their twin committed

  • The pictures are of the same print just rotated and inverted. I have brothers who are twins and their prints are a near perfect MIRROR image are are their faces. When looking at one in the mirror they look like the opposite. As far as jail goes it’s the DNA where twins are in trouble. The DNA will be a perfect match.

  • Identical twins don’t have identical fingerprints, but they do have identical DNA prints. Fingerprints are just how you were touching the placenta during time of development.

  • well the two fingerprints in the photo are identical, the bottom one is just 180 degrees rotated and inverted.

  • You didn’t know this already?

  • What is the rate for female identiticle twin girls to be sexsual toward @ other?

  • spent 30 seconds staring at the picture. when i was done i didn’t give 2 shits about fingerprints

  • I don’t care if they’re fully identical or not. I want those two in the picture so badly.

  • They are so hot <3

  • F*cking idiot (like pretty much every muslim).

    Do some reading on subjective validation.
    In case you don’t know why i’m telling you this: The passage you refer to says absolutely _nothing_ about the uniqueness of fingerprints.

  • holy crap you are stupid. no frikken duh, and to the idiot whom said those fingerprints look anything alike, you’re just as stupid. :\ if not much more stupid.

  • “No two people have the same finger print”
    This is incorrect.

  • I am an identical twin. Up until the age of 12, my twin and I had identical fingerprints. My parents had us supply fingerprints to the local police department for their child kidnapping program (as did all the other kids in our elementary school). The police department was astounded that our fingerprints were identical. Then one day, my twin was helping me with a school project and accidentally cut my right thumb, leaving me with a scar. That scar is the only difference in our fingerprints.

  • This is old knowledge. Everybody knows this but you. It seems that you’re discovering old news and believe you’re the first.

  • Those twins are sexy

  • Who are those chicks?!

    And ya those are pretty much the same…

  • OMG is that true!? it’s the most amazing discovery in the history of mankind!! (I’m being ironic just in case) sometimes I think that people should read more and don’t waste time on the computer (as I am doing now) hahaha

  • Identical twins share the SAME DNA, but different thumb-prints. That thumb-print is the only thing which is biologically different

  • Humans have been around for 14 thousand years. There are currently ~6 billion humans. The average finger size has a limited number of lines, loops, whorls, and swirls. How many BILLIONS of humans have come before us? Maybe even trillions. Each person has 10 fingers. That’s 60 billion fingers just on earth today. Someone somewhere at some time HAS to have had the same finger print pattern. It’s impossible for there to be NO fingerprints identical, because there’s a limited number of patterns possible.

    Just a little injection of reality.

  • QUIET! I am thinking about those two twins in the picture…you think their boobs look the same? Lets see!

  • Interesting that this website chose a picture of actual porn star twins for this article.

  • the funny thing is, those girls aren’t twins, one is 15 the other one is 17. they’re cousins and they both said “what the fuck” when they saw this..

  • what are these girls names? i have a feeling that iv seen them before.

  • I dont care about the exact twins! give me the name of that twins! they are really cute!

  • Really? Because they look a lot like Claire and Annie Weaver. They got to UO, someone should tell them

  • fingerprints? what? where? all i see is 2 really hot girls

  • There names are Megan and Amanda and there not from UO.

  • Newsflash, they don’t have identical belly buttons, either, though I imagine someone will come on here and say: “I have an identical twin and WE have identical belly buttons!” or “You’re wrong, my best friends are twins and they have identical belly buttons!”
    Just in case, save your lies for someone else.

  • actually finger prints are not the topic.here main and hot topic is they r damn sexy and very hot

  • yeah so….. this picture was stolen off of my sister’s website and it’s a photo of me and my identical twin when we were 15. NOT COOL. I’d really appreciate it if it was taken down please. And just to clarify, we really ARE twins and NOT porn stars. this is sick.

  • Thanks. Really appreciate it!

  • There are several families in the world that share a genetic anomaly – lacking ridges on their finger tips. Therefore their fingerprints are identical.

  • when i had my twins the dr.told me they was as identical all the way down to there thumb prints.so i don’t know what to think about it.