SKIRMISHER

Quick!: what has four dicks, two of which retract like a Decepticon penis, and looks so cute you never thought it knew anything about sex?

The spiny anteater’s (Tachyglossus aculeatus) four-headed phallus had been puzzling scientists. “When we tried to collect semen by [electrically-stimulated ejaculation] before, not only did we not get a single drop, but the whole penis swelled up to a four-headed monster that wouldn’t fit the female reproductive tract, which has only two branches,” says Johnston.

“Now we know that during a normal erection, two heads get shut down and the other two fit,” he told New Scientist. The heads used are swapped each time the mammal has se

The researchers have also observed that hundreds of sperm team up to form bundles that swim much faster than individual sperm in the spiny anteater’s semen – another possible adaptation for sperm competition.

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