Tag Archives: sex facts

Gender reversal

‘Give it to me’ has a new meaning

The nutrients are extra valuable in such a dry environment, creating a situation where females compete for males. I’m not sure why this would have driven the development of the gynosome- maybe the more females could insert themselves into the males the more successful they were.

Reference: Yoshizawa, K., Ferreira, R.L., Kamimura, Y. and Lienhard, C., 2014. Female penis, male vagina, and their correlated evolution in a cave insect. Current Biology, 24(9), pp.1006-1010.

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.

Seriously, I have a perfectly good ovipositor, tho

Still a better love story than Twilight.

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.

Seeing the Light

Is it in?

Dr. Arikawa was working on sensory stimuli of Japanese yellow swallowtails when they discovered that the butterflies have light sensors on their genitalia. They have since found similar light sensors on a number of other butterfly genitalia. Also, I’m not an expert, but it appears the male butterfly in this image is hanging from his dick.

Arikawa, K., 2001. Hindsight of butterflies: the Papilio butterfly has light sensitivity in the genitalia, which appears to be crucial for reproductive behavior. Bioscience, 51(3), pp.219-225.

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.

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.

So many spiny knobs

I found conflicting diagrams, both from published books, on whether the fertilizing clasper is anterior or posterior to the spiny knob clasper. It might vary between species.

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

By Linda Snook / MBNMS – http://www.mbnms-simon.org/other/photos/photo_info.php?photoID=1307, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1935773

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.

OSTRICH

This is the grossest penis I have yet drawn.

Ostriches evert (turn inside out and inflate) their penises both to have sex and to poop. I guess it would get in the way otherwise?

Reference: Brennan, P.L. and Prum, R.O., 2012. The erection mechanism of the ratite penis. Journal of Zoology, 286(2), pp.140-144.

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.

The one-eyed snake

I recommend watching some youtube videos about this, because those penises are out there, waving around like giant snakes.

Reference: 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons

Also, I highly recommend this youtube video about collecting sperm from an elephant.

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.