A new genus of tarantula has been announced, whose males are so well-endowed that scientists essentially named them the 'genital king.' The new genus, Satyrex, is named after Satyrs (male nature spirits from ancient Greek mythology known for their bawdy behavior and prominent packages) and Rex, which is Latin for "king."
Spiders don't really have penises, in the traditional sense. Instead, they use arm-like structures called palps to grab sperm from ducts in their abdomen, which is then inserted into the genital opening of a female. It doesn't sounds very romantic, but it gets the job done. And given the fact that many females spiders attempt to kill (and eat) their male suitors after sex, it's quite understandable that the males would want to keep their distance.
Males of the newly described species boast the longest "penises" of all known tarantulas. The largest gets up to 2 inches long – almost as long as its legs, and nearly 4 times longer than its torso/carapace. By comparison, most tarantula species sport penises merely twice as long as their carapace. Finnish arachnologist Alireza Zamani explained that the reason the spiders are proudly packing might be a matter of self-preservation. "We have tentatively suggested that the long palps might allow the male to keep a safer distance during mating and help him avoid being attacked and devoured by the highly aggressive female," says Zamani.
No comments:
Post a Comment