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View Full Version : Sea Slug has Detachable Sex Gear!



The Publisher
02-14-2013, 04:18 AM
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Most nudibranchs are though to be functioning hermaphrodites. This means they each possess both make and female sexual organs, both function and each animal can use both at the same time. Which makes me wonder, who needs a partner then?! And what happens of the other half of your body has a headache or wants to wash their hair for the evening?

According to a study published in Royal Society's Journal of Biology, it is reported that some nudibranchs have detachable male genitalia.

Bernard Picton, curator of marine invertebrates at the National Museums Northern Ireland, explained: "The genital apparatus is on the right hand side of the body. So two nudibranchs come together and one faces one way and one faces the other way, with the right hand side of their bodies touching.

"The penis from one fits into the female opening of the other one, and the penis from that one fits into the female opening of the first one, if you see what I mean.

"They are both donating sperm to the other one."

Leave it to a scientist to over complicate it! Humans just call that a good 69.

Japanese field researchers, led by Ayami Sekizawa, a biologist at Osaka City University, collected 31 pairs of Chromodoris reticulate from coral reefs off Okinawa, Japan. They observed sea slugs mating 31 times. Copulation lasted between a few seconds, and some would have sex in rapid succession several times. yeah, well, no wonder they have to try again if it is only a few seconds to a few minutes! 15 to 20 actual intercourse minutes but usually once for humans, do the math! lol The slugs would then detach their male genitalia, and leave it laying around the tanks. But within 24 hours, the nudibranchs had regenerated new male genitalia, and were back to getting their freak on. Scientists noted that the male genitalia had spines on it. Ouch.

Japanese scientists hypothesized that a detachable male genitalia provided the advantage of removing a potential rival
sperm from the host Chromodoris reticulata nudibranchs studied. This is not to different from humans, whose male genitalia geometry is designed like a vacuum pump diaphragm cup to extract rival sperm even as the male produces a type of sperm whose sole mission is not to fertilize an egg, but to kill rival sperm.

You can read the entire study here (http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/9/2/20121150)

Comments?

Papa Bear
02-14-2013, 05:10 AM
Is this a Valentine post? I know it sound "Romantic" to me!