• oyfrog@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Hemipenes (and penis/intermittent organs) are really diverse in terms of size and shape. A lot of lizards and snakes have little nodules and barbs that vary from species to species. Not sure what the ornaments do, but it’s interesting. Also interesting is that having two (i.e. one on each side) potentially means that there’s a handedness in terms of the preferred side used for mating.

    Other fun facts about penises and other intermittent organs: cats and other felids have barbed penises that force ovulation in the female. Tangentially related are the pseudo penises of female hyenas.

    More fun facts: damselfly males have intermittent organs that are spoon shaped so they scrape out the sperm of rival males.

    Respond ‘cock facts’ to learn more about penises and intermittent organs.

    Respond ‘stop’ if you don’t want to learn cool shit.

      • oyfrog@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Thanks for joining penis and intermittent organ facts.

        Did you know that the “tail” of the male coastal tailed frog is actually an extension of the cloaca effectively acting as an intermittent organ?

        Reply ‘more cock’ for more facts about penises and intermittent organs.

  • MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Do they use both at the same time? For pissing? For intercourse? For the third thing? Does a snake have a favored penis? Are they corkscrew or some other unusual shape?

    I never thought I’d have so many questions (read, more than 1) about snake penis.

  • KubrickFR@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    I love this twist on that: “Did you know that on average, snakes have one penis. Now think about it carefully”

  • OwOarchist@pawb.social
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    3 days ago

    Not just snakes, most reptiles.

    Also common in other branches of the evolutionary tree as well, as in most sharks.

        • Jyek@sh.itjust.works
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          2 days ago

          It’s actually a hemipenis. It’s a single penis with two heads. Forked like their tongue. It’s because they breed in piles and it doubles their odds of hitting a target

          • Ghostie@lemmy.zip
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            2 days ago

            It’s wild how I thought up the previous comment of mine as a joke only to find out I was kind of on the right track.

        • T156@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          Probably to make mating easier, since they can protrude out on either side, rather than the snake having to reposition, or end up poking straight down into the dirt.

          But genital shapes can be pretty weird in general. Just look at humans. Instead of a simple tube, they have a squishy plug thing on one end. They don’t even have a baculum to keep it straight, they just use hydraulic pressure.

  • Che Banana@beehaw.org
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    2 days ago

    and here I was sitting on my duck corkscrew penis knowledge like I was a well educated soul…

  • Medic8me@piefed.ca
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    2 days ago

    All the wild rabbits around where we live have two as well. Happens apparently.