Oh. The. Horror! The penis may have been a lot scarier in humans evolutionary past. At one point in time, the male penis had spines, but human ancestors lost those prickly structures before Neanderthals and modern humans diverged some 700,000 years ago, according to a 2010 study published in the journal Nature. Scientists arent clear on the function of those spines, but some propose they allowed for quickies because they can create an erection quickly, and are more common in promiscuous species, such as cats (tomcats have rather terrifying spines on their penis). Another relic of times past is the penis bone, or baculum. Though most apes have a bone to keep their member erect, human males lost theirs at some point and now rely on blood pressure for stiffness. In other animals, the penis bone sits inside the body and is pushed out into the penis for an instant, reliable erection. Its still a mystery why males lost this trait, but in The Selfish Gene (Oxford University Press, 2006), biologist Richard Dawkins proposes the bone-free penis was selected for because it allows females to gauge potential partners health — those who cant get an erection probably have poor blood flow. livescience/39046-7-wild-facts-about-the-penis.html
Posted on: Sat, 14 Jun 2014 13:59:23 +0000
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