{"id":4103,"date":"2026-11-04T04:26:19","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T04:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/bat-with-a-disproportionately-large-penis-is-the-first-mammal-to-reproduce-without-penetration\/"},"modified":"2026-11-04T04:26:21","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T04:26:21","slug":"bat-with-a-disproportionately-large-penis-is-the-first-mammal-to-reproduce-without-penetration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/bat-with-a-disproportionately-large-penis-is-the-first-mammal-to-reproduce-without-penetration\/","title":{"rendered":"Bat With a Disproportionately Large Penis Is the First Mammal to Reproduce Without Penetration"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Video recordings have revealed the astonishing mating method of serotine bats, making them the first known mammals to reproduce without penetration.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-905417\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Unusual Mating<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Fascinating creatures, <strong>bats<\/strong> are known for their remarkable longevity despite their small size (some species are believed to live over 40 years) and the surprising aspects of their sexuality, with females capable of storing the male&#8217;s sperm in their uterus for months and previously observed engaging in fellatio.<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">The P\u00e8re-Lachaise cemetery houses 4,134 trees and nearly 140 animal species, the necropolis has become a wild refuge<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Published in the journal <em>Current Biology<\/em>, research led by Nicolas Fasel of the University of Lausanne and his colleagues unveiled the unique mode of <strong>reproduction<\/strong> of the serotine bat (<em>Eptesicus serotinus<\/em>), a species widespread in forests across Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n<p>By examining footage of individuals roosting in the attic of a Dutch church and at a Ukrainian rehabilitation center, the team found that the males possessed a disproportionately large <strong>genital organ<\/strong>, featuring a heart-shaped tip. Overall, its erect length measured about a quarter of the males&#8217; body length and seven times the length of the females&#8217; vagina.<\/p>\n<p>An analysis of 97 filmed matings of <em>E. serotinus<\/em> showed that these interactions did not involve penetration. The males simply used their erect organ as an arm to part the protective membrane surrounding the females&#8217; vulva. Commonly observed in birds, this mode of reproduction (known in birds as the &#8220;cloacal kiss&#8221;) had never before been documented in a mammal.<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">Believed extinct since 1937: thanks to local efforts, 90 of these adorable primates have been saved<\/span><\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"cssc-content-video-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Bat uses its huge penis like an arm during sex\" width=\"680\" height=\"383\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/4cYPJ3CVyNA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Embraces that can last for more than 12 hours<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Once the tip of the male\u2019s penis is pressed firmly against the partner&#8217;s vulva, the two bats remain motionless in a protracted embrace that can endure for over 12 hours.<\/p>\n<p>According to the study authors, it is likely that other bat species reproduce in this manner, and that the <em>E. serotinus<\/em> females also store sperm from different males in their long cervix.<\/p>\n<p>Not surprisingly, this is not the only unusual reproductive behavior in the animal kingdom. Females of a Brazilian insect species are notably known for inserting their \u201cpenis\u201d into the males&#8217; \u201cvagina.\u201d<\/p>\n<section class=\"incontent-related\"><span class=\"incontent-related__title\">Read also<\/span> <span class=\"incontent-related__desc\">Reckless, the fearless mare who faced all dangers during the Korean War<\/span><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2647,2648,1407,2469,2651,2649,2650],"class_list":["post-4103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bat","tag-disproportionately","tag-large","tag-mammal","tag-penetration","tag-penis","tag-reproduce","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4103"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4105,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4103\/revisions\/4105"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.farmersforum.ie\/trends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}