Tag Archives: marine ecology

Penis/ Butt chin

This is a series of little illustrated factoids about animal reproduction, posted daily. I’d love to hear your suggestions/ feedback. I also post these on my insta.

Reference: Shibukawa, K., Tran, D.D. and Tran, L.X., 2012. Phallostethus cuulong, a new species of priapiumfish (Actinopterygii: Atheriniformes: Phallostethidae) from the Vietnamese Mekong. Zootaxa, 3363(1), pp.45-51.

Austin, C.R., and Short, R.V. eds., 1986. Reproduction in Mammals. Cambridge University Press.

A little too stabby

These little slugs are TINY. Like just a few mm long.

The stylet also inserts something into the other slug that increases it’s fertility.

Reference: Anthes, N. and Michiels, N.K., 2007. Precopulatory stabbing, hypodermic injections and unilateral copulations in a hermaphroditic sea slug. Biology Letters, 3(2), pp.121-124.

This is a series of little illustrated factoids about animal reproduction, posted daily. I’d love to hear your suggestions/ feedback. I also post these on my insta.

mucus cuddle

This is my favorite penis fact, by far. Such a cute little slug mucus cuddle.

Reference: Davison, Angus, 2019. Leopard slugs mate in the most beautifully bizarre way – and nobody knows why. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/leopard-slugs-mate-in-the-most-beautifully-bizarre-way-and-nobody-knows-why-128284

This is a series of little illustrated factoids about animal reproduction, posted daily. I’d love to hear your suggestions/ feedback. I also post these on my insta.

Worm lies

They do have long proboscises, tho.

These poor worms in phyla Priapulida mate through external fertilization.

This is a series of little illustrated factoids about animal reproduction, posted daily. I’d love to hear your suggestions/ feedback. I also post these on my insta.

Hooks and barbs

Shark sex is BRUTAL. Also, now you know sharks, skates, and rays have external genitalia, you can go to an aquarium and correct people whenever they misgender the fish. It’s a lot of fun! Probably why no one ever wants to go to an aquarium with me twice, because they can’t imagine having so much fun a second time.

References: Klimley, A.P., 2013. The biology of sharks and rays. University of Chicago Press.

Jones, C.J., Walker, T.I., Bell, J.D., Reardon, M.B., Ambrosio, C.E., Almeida, A. and Hamlett, W.C., 2005. Male genital ducts and copulatory appendages in chondrichthyans. Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Chondrichthyes: Sharks, Batoids and Chimaeras, ed. WC Hamlett, pp.361-393.

This is a series of little illustrated factoids about animal reproduction, posted daily. I’d love to hear your suggestions/ feedback. I also post these on my insta.

size matters

I’m guessing they pheromones to find their mates, but I like to imagine a large rock covered in barnacles, little penises emerging from all of them, feeling around like long thin little fingers.

Reference: Neufeld, C.J. and Palmer, A.R., 2008. Precisely proportioned: intertidal barnacles alter penis form to suit coastal wave action. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 275(1638), pp.1081-1087.

This is a series of little illustrated factoids about animal reproduction, posted daily. I’d love to hear your suggestions/ feedback. I also post these on my insta.

Detachable peen

What I want to know is if this makes them swim around in circles.

Reference: Fusco, G. and Minelli, A., 2019. The Biology of Reproduction. Cambridge University Press.

This is a series of little illustrated factoids about animal reproduction, posted daily. I’d love to hear your suggestions/ feedback. I also post these on my insta.

#1 DAD

So many limbs, so little anything else

My original post was kindly corrected by Dr. Bonnie Bain, who pointed out that the secretions- mainly emitted by cement glands on the femurs- the eggs were wrapped in were probably not mucus, but no one has investigated the material in depth. Dr. Bain’s paper has a lot of other interesting details about the mating of the sea spiders (pycnogonids), including some fascinating descriptions of courting behavior, and aggression between females for mates.

Bain, B.A. and Govedich, F.R., 2004. Courtship and mating behavior in the Pycnogonida (Chelicerata: Class Pycnogonida): a summary. Invertebrate reproduction & development46(1), pp.63-79.

Other references: Woods, Anne. REPRODUCTION & LIFE CYCLE OF SEA SPIDERS. Pets on Mom.com. https://animals.mom.com/spiders-reproduce-live-birth-eggs-7404.html Accessed 11/20/2020.

Image reference: Bernard Picton, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

This is a series of little illustrated factoids about animal reproduction, posted daily. I’d love to hear your suggestions/ feedback. I also post these on my insta.

Bigger isn’t always better

What I want to know is if this makes them swim around in circles.

References:

Austin, C.R., Austin, C.R. and Short, R.V. eds., 1986. Reproduction in Mammals. Cambridge University Press.

Böhm, CC BY 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons

This is a series of little illustrated factoids about animal reproduction, posted daily. I’d love to hear your suggestions/ feedback. I also post these on my insta.

Free ride

I’ve gotten conflicting info on whether or not the males desiccate only leaving their gonads behind or whether they actually thrive better than free-living males.

References: Nouvian, C., 2007. The deep. University of Chicago Press.

This is a series of little illustrated factoids about animal reproduction, posted daily. I’d love to hear your suggestions/ feedback. I also post these on my insta.