Breeding

CNN Indonesia

Saturday, 25 Nov 2023 09:51 WIB

Illustration. Experts research the breeding of bats with penile abnormalities. (AP/Sakchai Lalit)

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —

For member find species bat has a penis so large that it cannot fit into a female’s vagina, being the only mammal known to have sex without penetration.

Typically, mammals mate through penetrative sex. However, serotinous bats (Eptesicus serotinus) have developed a different strategy.

Instead of inserting their penis into the female’s vagina, males use their oversized genitals to push aside their partner’s tail sheath, before pressing on her vulva for up to 12 hours, according to a study published Monday (20/11) in the journal Current Biology.

“We’ve observed that these bats have very long penises and we’ve always wondered how does that work?” said lead author Nicolas Fasel, postdoctoral researcher and evolutionary biologist at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, quoted from LiveScience.

The way it works is apparently not like other mammals. When erect, this bat’s penis is seven times longer and wider than the female’s vaginal opening. This makes penetrative sex post-erection impossible.

“We thought it might be like in dogs whose penises enlarge after penetration so they lock together. Or alternatively maybe they couldn’t get it inside, but that type of copulation has never been reported in mammals until now,” Fasel said.

Fasel and his colleagues analyzed footage from cameras they placed at angles where the bats could climb. This position makes the animal’s genitals visible during intercourse.

They recorded a total of 97 mating events in the attic of a Dutch church and at a bat rehabilitation center in Ukraine. None of the sex sessions involved penetration.

Instead, the footage shows the males holding the females by the nape of the neck and moving their pelvises until their erect penises push firmly against their partner’s vulva.

The male then remained still in this embrace for an average of 53 minutes with the longest interaction lasting almost 13 hours.

The researchers noted the bats’ penises enlarged before coming into contact with the vulva, even excluding the possibility of penetration before erection, which is known to occur in dogs.

The team also measured and described the erect penises of live serotonin bats.

These animals experienced erections under anesthesia, so the researchers were able to document a “heart-shaped” swelling at the tip of the penis.

“The terminal swelling is dotted with several short hairs and consists of two large erectile tissues. We postulate that the hairs present on the terminal swelling function as sensors to help locate the vulva,” the researchers wrote in the study.

Serentine bats likely developed penises so large that they could get rid of the membrane covering the female’s genitals.

“Bats use their tail membranes to fly and catch the insects they eat and female bats also use them to cover their lower bodies and protect themselves from male bats,” Fasel said.

However, males can use this large penis to pass through the tail membrane and reach the vulva.

The fur on the female bat’s belly appears wet after mating, indicating the presence of sperm. However, samples are needed to confirm that male bats ejaculate during the long cuddling process.

Regardless, experts conclude this is the first documented evidence of non-penetrative sex, also known as “contact mating” in mammals.

However, this behavior has been described in birds, and involves the male and female pressing an opening called the cloaca to perform a “cloacal kiss” that results in sperm transfer.

To better describe the mating behavior of serotine bats, Fasel and his colleagues “tried to develop a bat porn box that would be like an aquarium with cameras everywhere.”

(rfi/arh)

2023-11-25 02:51:55
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