After years of neglect, scientists say they finally found the genitals of a female snake
It took more than a century, but scientists finally found it – the clitoris of a female snake.
a new research The researchers, published Wednesday in the proceedings of the Royal Society B-Journal, studied male snake genitalia and after years of scientists misidentifying female genitalia, the researchers found that the female genitalia not only exist, but may also play an important role in longer and more frequent matings.
“Across the animal kingdom, female reproductive organs are overlooked compared to male reproductive organs.” Megan Folwella PhD candidate from the University of Adelaide, Australia, said the lead author of the study. I object.”
male genitals snake and lizards – a group known as the Squamata – extensively studied Since the 1800s, three of the study’s authors wrote earlier this year. They pointed out that scientists have found all sorts of information about male reproductive organs.
But since the snake penis was discovered, the genitalia of female snakes have been “significantly overlooked,” new research says, with many people for years thinking their visible organs were underdeveloped. Even when the clitoris was identified in lizards, it was assumed that its purpose was to help stimulate the male.
To more accurately describe the anatomy of female snakes, Folwell and an international group of scientists analyzed nine adult females. snake species From different parts of the world such as Australia, Central America, South America.
“i know it [the clitoris] It makes sense that it’s present in many animals and absent in all snakes,” Folwell said. BBC“I just had to look to see if this structure was there or just missed.”
And they found that animals have not one but two individual semiclitorises separated by connective tissue, providing the first complete description of the animal clitoris. Unlike the lizard’s clitoris, the snake’s genitalia have no spines or contractile muscles, come in all sorts of sizes, and have slightly different locations.
They also found that the snake clitoris has nerve bundles and fibers that exhibit tactile sensitivity “similar to the mammalian clitoris,” the study said.If a Male Snake Offers sensory stimulation For the organ, it could help “bring out female receptivity,” promoting longer, more frequent matings, and even better fertility rates, the researchers said.
Kate Sanders, a researcher and professor at the University of Adelaide, said: “We found that the heart-shaped snake hemicritol is composed of nerves and red blood cells consistent with erectile tissue, which swells during mating. “This is important because copulation in snakes is often thought of as involving coercion of the female, rather than seduction.”
According to Folwell, more research is needed on hemicritol, but its discovery is an important first step.
“We are proud to contribute to this research,” she said.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/female-snakes-sex-organ-hemiclitores-scientists/ After years of neglect, scientists say they finally found the genitals of a female snake