Paris (AFP) – The mystery surrounding a species of bat’s disproportionately large penis has been solved thanks to the observations of a Dutch pensioner in a church, according to a study published in Current Biology.
Published on: 11/21/2023 – 12:55 p.m. Modified on: 11/21/2023 – 12:53 p.m
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These observations led a team of European researchers to conclude that this species, the common Serotina, uses its organ not to penetrate the female’s genitals, but as a kind of “copulatory arm.”
This is the first time that a mammal has the ability to reproduce without inserting its genital appendage.
The common serotina, which has a wingspan of more than 35 centimeters, is a widespread species in the forests of Europe and Asia.
Biologist Nicolas Fasel, a researcher at the Swiss University of Lausanne, told AFP that his team had long noticed that the animal had “an extremely long penis when erect.”
A size seven times longer than the female organ could accommodate. In particular, the end of his erect penis is shaped like a heart, also seven times too large to allow penetration.
Characteristics that, according to Nicolas Fasel, make classic copulation “impossible”.
The mystery was even greater because bat mating is difficult to observe.
The solution came via email, the first word of which was “penis,” followed by something Dutch and the word “Eptesicus,” namely the scientific name of the species.
The latter caught the attention of Professor Fasel, who realized after watching the video attached to the email that he “had his answer.”
A silent hug
The sender, Jan Jeucken, was a pensioner with no scientific training who lived in the small village of Castenray in the south of the Netherlands.
He became interested in a population of serotines living in the attic of the local church and installed cameras that recorded their activities.
A “passion that makes him the ideal person” to understand their behavior, according to Mr. Fasel, who included the pensioner on the list of authors of the study published this week.
The researchers analyzed 93 matings in the church, filmed through a grid to which the bats clung.
The female serotine has a large membrane connecting the tail to her elbows, which she can use to protect her genitals.
During mating, the male grabs the female by the neck and uses his long penis to spread this membrane to reach the entrance to the genital tract.
What follows is a long, motionless embrace called “contact mating,” which allows the transfer of the male’s sperm.
This form of non-penetrative reproduction, also called “cloacal kissing,” is common in birds but has never been observed in mammals.
The hug can last forever in the broad-winged bat, with an average duration of 53 minutes and a recorded record of 13 hours.
According to Professor Fasel, the female could use her extremely long cervix to store sperm from different males for months before choosing one to reproduce.
It’s possible that other species of bats also reproduce in this way, adds the researcher, who believes that further research on the topic could reveal “many other species with strange penises.”
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