Man, the news seems to be Animals After Dark the last couple of days. As a sex-obsessed biologist, I can’t exactly complain. Here are some neat stories:
- You are what you eat, and you love whoever eats the same way. At least, if you’re a fruit fly. Gut bacteria in flies that are more common on different diets change the way the fly smells, and flies are more attracted to flies that smell like them.
- Male wasp spiders only get one chance at love, since females eat them after mating. How romantic. It used to be believed that males preferred larger, more fertile females, but it looks like what male spiders really dig are virgins. I guess it’s not a bad strategy when the first male to mate with a female is most successful. Well, as long as he remembers to snap off his genital inside of her to form a chastity belt. (What, did I make some of you uncomfortable? Look, I had to stare at a scary spider to read that article for you, so shush)
- If you thought finding a partner to dance with was awkward, try being a black truffle. The two sexes of these fungi grow separately in different trees, relying on insects and animals to bring them together. Unlike humans, who rely on booze.
- Move over, Mary. A female boa constrictor has given virgin birth twenty two baby snakes. Parthenogenesis – the development of an embryo without fertilization from a male – has been documented in reptiles before, but this case is unique. You’re probably familiar with how sex is determined in mammals – XX are female, XY are male. It many reptiles and birds, the homogametic (same sex chromosome) sex is reversed – ZZ are male, ZW are female. The surprising thing is that all of the virgin offspring were WW, which was previously thought to be nonviable. They are all essentially half clones of their mother, resulting in a duplication of just half of her genome. That, or God is sending an interesting message with his species choice for the second coming.
Compared to the rest of the tree of life, your sex life is boring,heh what sex life?
C’mon, you’re at least getting as much sex as Mary, the boa constrictor. And without the pesky 22 offspring.
that’s mah point.
Perhaps these new virgin birth serpents will be able to speak to us, or make tortillas with Jesus’ face upon them, thus confirming the inerrancy of the Bible.
I can’t believe that you shushed us!
Science question: Isn’t having males be the heterogeneous chromosomal pair more advantageous?My understanding, at least of the X/Y system, is that the Y chromosome, unable to have another chromosome to trade genes with during meosis, tends to rack up more mutations, especially harmful ones. The chromosome runs wild, with genes repeating, often leading to genetic damage. Why not keep that genetic damage limited to the sex that tends to impregnate multiple partners? That way, if the genetic damage tends to be fatal (either directly, because the resulting organism is non-viable, or indirectly, because the resulting organism is unable to compete effectively), the species, as a whole, has the same reproductive rate, assuming males of that species are not monogamous.
Don’t forget the anglerfish, where males will bite into and slowly become part of the female they mate with.
Many people don’t realize that the serpent in the garden of eden was the first of gods creatures to prophesize the truth, sort of jesus’ older brother, if you will….
Personally, I think I’d be more squicked by the idea of broken-off-male-genital chastity belts if I were a woman.Well, the parthenogentic snakes aren’t all that surprising. Teh Loard needs serpents to corrupt his creation. Presumably a third Adam will be made out of clay once the wee snakelets grow big enough to spout legs and talk.
As a former health teacher, I have always thought a great way to introduce sex ed would be to survey sex among many species. Start with plants, which use insect pollination (another species… that’s more than just kinky). Some orchids even imitate the reproductive organs of insects to entice the males to “mate” with them (most use nectar as an attractant). Then move on to animals; lab_monkey’s mention of the anglerfish is a great one. The male attaches itself and becomes a sperm-producing organ of the female. And so on… by the time we got to humans, the students would be thinking how unshocking human sex is; the wildest BDSM dungeon could not hold a candle to ordinary sex among the rest of life on Earth. Alas, curricular restrictions never let me put my plan into action…
Our ancestors ate a bit of fruit so that they may know good and evil, and be as gods. By confessing our sins, we betray Eve’s thirst for knowledge and understanding. This knowledge that has been imparted to us all through that serpent of truth, exemplifies our freedom and autonomy, and guarantees us a mortal life full of value and meaning. Had granny Eve not listened, we would have all led lives that typify enslavement, credulity and the retardation of our potential. Hoorah for asexual, dirt-eating, legless snakes!
If you are talking about the snakes, this is not an issue. The offspring considered here are WW, and what I want to know is are these genetically unviable (allegedly) reptiles capable of breeding themselves? Is this considered to be a speciation event if they are not capable of breeding with other boas? What would the progeny of such a snake be if they could? Do they reproduce asexually themselves? I have so many questions that no one appears to have answers for. Not even the great Aron Ra, yet.
Actually, this post really makes my sex life look better. I mean, I’m not at risk of being eaten or anything at least.