Sexy Science Fact #1 – QUADRO-DONGS!

Echidnas are freaky, sorry I mean Australian, mammals that look like anteaters but are actually weird. They have cloacas, like birds, and also like birds lay eggs. The hombres have a FOUR HEADED willy.

WARNING THIS IMAGE IS GRAPHIC AND CREEPY!
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DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YOU, PEOPLE!

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LAST CHANCE TO BAIL!
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image source: National Geographic

But let’s hear it for the LADIES! They have a sort of double branched magic tunnel. Only two of the four heads are used at at time during mating because… where would the other two go?? And apparently the heads switch off. So 1 and 2 are used first, then 3 and 4 used next (imagine they are numbered left to right?), and sometimes they are used in succession with the same dame! POW POW POW POW!

Bonus! Scientists really have no idea what’s going on with echidna sex or why this evolved.

Sources

• The Tasmanian Echidna’s Four-Headed Penis, Lucy Cooke (National Geographic)
• Adaptations of the short-beaked echidna Tachyglossus aculateus for sperm production, particularly in an arid environment., RC Jones, et al (Australian Mammology)