Scientists asserted on Wednesday that female snakes had clitorises after an extensive research on genital organs.
Scent glands, which are essentially underdeveloped penises, were thought to exist in female snakes, according to earlier study. The latest study, however, has disproved such hypotheses by providing an exhaustive explanation of ‘clitorises.’
In a study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the authors wrote, ‘Female genitalia are conspicuously overlooked in comparison to their male counterparts, limiting our understanding of sexual reproduction across vertebrate lineages.’
Lead author Megan Folwell told AFP that the study’s analysis of hemiclitoris was its initial step.
The term ‘hemiclitoris’ first originated in 1995 when German herpetologist Wolfgang Boehme described the first female sex organs. Till the 1800s, it was known that squamates have dual sex organs called ‘hemipenis.’
The group dissected 10 snakes, including pythons and Mexican moccasins, representing nine different species.
They discovered a snake with two distinct clitorises—hemiclitoris divided by tissue and concealed skin behind its tail. Some were quite thin, measuring between one millimetre and seven millimetres.
Folwell responded, ‘It’s such a taboo subject, female genitalia is not the simplest topic to bring up and be appreciated,’ when asked why it took the researchers so long to arrive.
According to a recent study, clitorises serve a crucial role in reproduction and may be common in squamates, including snakes. There have been surprisingly few studies on this topic for animals, including humans.
The new study comes following human research earlier this year that claimed that a human clitoris has between 1,100 to 9,850 nerve fibres which means 20 per cent more than what was cited earlier.
Post Your Comments