Size does matter. This phrase may disappoint some people. But do not spread panic. It matters, basically, because a penis too big It is very complicated to achieve successful fertilization. This is what happens with the serotine bat (Eptesicus serotinus), a species of Eurasian flying mammal known to have a huge penis in proportion to its own dimensions. In fact, this bat’s penis is seven times longer than the depth of the females’ vaginas and ends with a heart-shaped enlargement, seven times wider than the vaginas of its peers. Come on, it is physically impossible for it to enter where it has to enter. Therefore, the ability of these animals to reproduce has been a mystery until, finally, a dutch retiree has found the answer.
After recording a very revealing video, he contacted a team of scientists who have been trying to understand the serotine bat sex. When they saw it, they didn’t believe it. They finally had the answer. Such was his joy and his gratitude to the retiree, called Jan Jeuckenwho decided to include him as co-author in the study on the subject that has just been published.
Now, what did Jeucken see? Let’s look at it in more detail, but, broadly speaking, the serotine bat penis size It is not a problem for your relationships basically because it reproduces without penetration. It seems impossible, but it is not.
The serotine bat’s penis is not an impediment
Jan Jeucken has no scientific training, but he does have a great passion for bats. Therefore, he knew that the serotine bat’s penis was a great mystery for science.
He used to observe and record the bats of different species that live in the area where he lives, but none had caught his attention as much as the ones he chose. the attic of a church near his house to have relationships.
If the sex of the serotine bat has always been a mystery, it has also been due to the discretion of these animals, which do not usually allow themselves to be seen while copulating. He had them completely accessible, so he placed cameras with which he managed to record dozens of sexual encounters. Once the data was collected, he sent it to Nicolas Fasela researcher from the University of Lausannein Switzerland, specialized in the behavior of bats.
He and his team analyzed these images in depth, as well as others taken at a Ukrainian bat rehabilitation center. In all of them they observed the same thing: the penis of the serotine bat is not used for copulation, but for grab to the females. They have a kind of membrane that covers their genitals, so they use their penis to remove that membrane and then merge with them in a hug, body to body, with which they drop the semen directly into their vagina, without having to introduce it. the penis in her.
cloacal kiss
In reality, it is not the first time that this type of reproduction has been observed in animals. For example, in birds, something known as cloacal kiss
Most birds do not have a penis or vagina.. There are only some exceptions, such as geese or ostriches, which do have them. The rest reproduce using the same structure they use to defecate: the sewer. Also present in amphibians, reptiles and a few fish and mammals, this is an opening located at the end of the digestive tract and open to the outside, where the excretory and reproductive systems also converge. But how do they reproduce?
In the case of birds, the male and the female are placed very close together, with one cloaca against the other, so that the former can deposit his semen in the body of the latter.
They also merge into a kind of hug without penetration, but the difference is that the serotine bat’s penis does exist. The thing is that it can’t be used. Therefore, the only use it has is for holding. At the moment this is a mechanism that has only been observed in this species of bat. It cannot be ruled out that it also occurs in others. But, until it is documented, this is already considered the only mammal that reproduces without penetration.
Ultimately, a bigger penis does not make you a better copulator. In fact, it can make copulation impossible. If not, tell this bat, who has had to make a living in another way. Size does matter, but not for what we usually think.