Am I being suckered by wiki?
Do marsupials really have two ding-a-lings? Googling “koala penis” only results in cute koala pictures and disturbing human pictures. Why do they need two? Do problems with static build up require polarization?
Am I being suckered by wiki?
Do marsupials really have two ding-a-lings? Googling “koala penis” only results in cute koala pictures and disturbing human pictures. Why do they need two? Do problems with static build up require polarization?
The Wikipedia article on “Koala” cites this book:
Dawson, T.J.; Finch, E., Freedman, L., Hume, I.D., Renfree, M., Temple-Smith, P.D. (PDF). Fauna of Australia; 17. Morphology and Physiology of Metatheria. pp. 51, 53. http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/publications/fauna-of-australia/pubs/volume1b/17-ind.pdf . That’s a moderately large PDF file, available on line, which supports the assertion that most marsupials have bifucated penises and double wombs.
IANAMarsupialogist, but I remeber reading the same thing about kangaroos.
I’ve read in several different places (and I am NOT gonna go a-googling, as I don’t need those images before I go out to eat) that kangaroos have double equipment. I don’t recall ever reading about a reasonable explanation, though.
<mod>This question has a factual answer, and possibly a factual explanation. I think it would do better in GQ.</mod>
Lynn
Many snakes also have a penis with separate halves (“hemipenes” is the term I’ve seen for snakes, but I don’t know if also applies to koalas). I think it might also be the case in some sharks. Occasionally, a bifurcated penis will be seen humans as a birth defect.
I don’t think there’s much in the way of function - it’s just the way they’re made.
IIRC, with kanagroos at least, it’s so that they can have two babies going at once at different stages of development. My only cite is a vague recollection of David Attenborough, though, so don’t quote me.
But, yeah, the double penis thing isn’t all that unusual. Koalas also have double thumbs, which are pretty freaky up close.
Marsupial do in fact have bifurcated penises. Even weirder is that females have not one, not two, but three, count 'em, three vaginas. Besides the two lateral ones mentioned in the OP, they have a central “pseudo-vagina” that only opens up when they are about to give birth.
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I’ve heard that some Aborigines body modify by splitting the heads of their penises in two as some sort of reference to the marsupial penis setup. Is this true or BS?
Splitting the head of a penis, but not the shaft, is known as headsplitting. Some aboriginals used to do something similar called subincision. The ritual consists of an urethrotomy in which the underside of the penis is incised and the urethra slit open lengthwise. It was done some after circumcision and is no longer practised. Here is a description of the procedure being carried out: Aboriginal Circumcision.
And we have a winner for the “link that nobody is going to click on” contest!
Having asked the question I felt obligated to click on the link provided and… ooofah… you have no idea. They make the kid eat his own… must go lie down.
You think the marsupials are weird? The spiny anteater, one of two extant monotremes, has a four-headed penis.
Nitpick: There’s more than one spiny anteater: two genera (Tachyglossus and Zaglossus) are generally recognised. (And I’ve patted several Tachyglossus aculeatus specimens, whose spines are not as sharp as they look, but not examined their penises – they may have been female, in fact, since I did not look at their genitalia)
That is easily the coolest video I’ve seen all week. It reminds me of that scene from Alien.
Who’d have thought “Your hung like an anteater.” wasn’t an insult?
CMC fnord!
Of course “You’ve got a tongue like an anteater.” has always been quite the compliment … I think.