Scientists discover the animal kingdom’s first ‘female penis’

Scientists have discovered four species of Brazilian insects in which the females possess a penis and the males possess a vagina. This announcement, made today in the journal Current Biology, represents the first documented instance of a “female penis” in the animal kingdom.

Contrary to popular belief, the presence or absence of certain sex organs isn’t the determining factor when deciding which animal of a species is female and which is male. In fact, biologists don’t use sex chromosomes either. They actually rely on the size of an animal’s gametes — sperm in males and oocytes in females. As the rule goes, females are the sex that contribute the largest gametes, whereas males are the sex that contribute the smallest gametes and therefore expend the least amount of energy on producing these cells. So, in this particular instance of sex-role reversal, the convention still applies: the female in these species of insect produces the largest gametes — egg cells. She simply also happens to sport a penis that she introduces into the male’s vagina during copulation.

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Research Article Link

Female Penis, Male Vagina, and Their Correlated Evolution in a Cave Insect

Highlights

•Females of the cave insect genus Neotrogla have an elaborate penis-like organ •The female penis acts as an intromittent organ and anchors the female to the male •Correlated evolution is detected between the female penis and male genitalia

Summary

Sex-specific elaborations are common in animals and have attracted the attention of many biologists, including Darwin . It is accepted that sexual selection promotes the evolution of sex-specific elaborations. Due to the faster replenishment rate of gametes, males generally have higher potential reproductive and optimal mating rates than females. Therefore, sexual selection acts strongly on males , leading to the rapid evolution and diversification of male genitalia . Male genitalia are sometimes used as devices for coercive holding of females as a result of sexual conflict over mating . In contrast, female genitalia are usually simple. Here we report the reversal of intromittent organs in the insect genus Neotrogla (Psocodea: Prionoglarididae) from Brazilian caves. Females have a highly elaborate, penis-like structure, the gynosome, while males lack an intromittent organ. The gynosome has species-specific elaborations, such as numerous spines that fit species-specific pouches in the simple male genital chamber. During prolonged copulation (?40–70 hr), a large and potentially nutritious ejaculate is transferred from the male via the gynosome. The correlated genital evolution in Neotrogla is probably driven by reversed sexual selection with females competing for seminal gifts. Nothing similar is known among sex-role reversed animals.

Brazil.

I sort of expected it to involve Adelaide.

your-penis-is-getting-in-the-way-of-my-science

Earlier today, scientists announced they’d discovered an insect with a new kind of female sex organ. It looks a bit like a penis, and is called a gynosome. But almost every news outlet covered the story by describing the insects as “females with penises.” This isn’t just painfully wrong — it’s bad for science.

some do cling and appeal to conceptual stereotypes, as if reality were made and shared so.

note of the human female the act of DNA extraction involves more than the vagina

I am not sure what criteria have been used but I am reminded of this story.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/freo-snails-grow-pensies-on-head/story-e6frg19l-1225917615063

morrie said:

I am not sure what criteria have been used but I am reminded of this story.

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/freo-snails-grow-pensies-on-head/story-e6frg19l-1225917615063

Gender going the other way.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com.au/news/2007/05/070521-sex-fish.html