http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn12838The bizarre sex life of the spiny anteater has been exposed by researchers – the male ejaculates using only one half of its penis. New findings about the creature’s sex life may seem salacious but they could help shed light on an evolutionary mystery.
Steve Johnston of the University of Queensland in Gatton, Australia, and his colleagues inherited a male spiny anteater that was not so shy. The creature had been ‘retired’ from a zoo as it produced an erection when being handled at public viewing sessions.
By filming this animal, the researchers have been able to describe the unique spiny anteater erection and ejaculation behaviour for the first time.
The spiny anteater's four-headed phallus had been puzzling scientists. "When we tried to collect semen by [electrically-stimulated ejaculation] before, not only did we not get a single drop, but the whole penis swelled up to a four-headed monster that wouldn't fit the female reproductive tract, which has only two branches," says Johnston.
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