Mammal gender is bare : Thepenisfits into the vagina . Right ? You might call back so — unless you ’ve seen a dolphin ’s vagina .
At the 2017 annual meeting of theAmerican Association of Anatomists , biologistDara Orbachof Dalhousie University in Canada explained just why she and her colleaguesrecently useda CT scanner to picture model sex between the reproductive organs of dead dolphins .
It may seem obvious that a dolphinfish penis would fit into a dolphin vagina , but , since mahimahi ca n’t spill about their sexual practice lives , scientists could n’t be certain . " Whales , dolphin , and porpoises have strange vaginal sheepcote , spirals , and recesses that the member and sperm must sail through to successfully feed the orchis , ” Orbach say in apress affirmation .
Dara Orbach , Dalhousie University
Orbach and Patricia Brennan , of Mount Holyoke College , used substantial procreative piece of ground they got fromdolphinsthat die naturally . They re - inflated the penis automatically so that they could stick them inside the stagnant dolphin vaginas and see exactly how they equip together . ( " My pardner , Dr. Diane Kelly , designed a organization that pumped supercharge saline into the penis so that we could adapt the press and the rate of inflation , " Orbach elaborated to mental_floss in an email . )
They also created silicone molds of the privates to study how the mammal ’s penis and vagina social structure might have co - evolved , especially consider that marine mammal have some interesting challenges to divvy up with during sexual urge — for one thing , they have to be swim , and for another , no one want salt water in theirbicornate uterus . As you’re able to see , the dolphin member navigates those twists and turns reasonably well , despite the challenges .
This inquiry is n’t just to satisfy scientific curiosity about howdolphinsmanage to get it on , though that ’s great , too . realise how actual dolphin sex activity tone could potentially help dolphin breeding programs see out how to optimise artificial insemination processes in favor of conception .
dolphin are n’t the only ones with complicated reproductive tracts , though . Brennan has previously meditate the sex lives ofducks , who have co - evolved genital organ evenmore complicatedthan the ace dolphins are packing .
