Well, well, WELL.
In today’s edition of Nature Is Ridiculous: the alligator penis somewhat behaves like a jack-in-the-box.
Let me elaborate.
When dissecting an alligator, researcher Brandon Moore of Louisiana Tech University had quite the jump-scare as his scalpel grazed the penis nerve as it immediately released an erect penis. Just like a jack-in-the-box.
So... why does the alligator penis do THAT?
Diane Kelly at the University of Massachusetts researched and published a paper on what makes the alligator penis stay erect.
Kelly had previously exposed the anatomical makeup of several penises and she used this knowledge to guide her alligator conundrum.
What she found was that unlike mammals, birds, and even some other reptiles, the alligator penis doesn’t actually need to inflate. Instead, it maintains a permanent erection made up of layers of collagen.
Alright, alright.
Not only that, but unlike many other animals, the alligator penis isn’t always on display and is instead tucked behind a cloaca until needed.
As IFLScience said: “This means that rather than being flaccid and rising to the task of copulation, it’s permanently ready to pop out for a quick bit of fertilisation, before being retracted out of sight again.”
Efficient!
You can actually see the moment that Moore found the erect penis but please be warned, this is truly not safe for work:
Alligators aren’t the only animals in the animal kingdom with strange reproductive organs
According to Smithsonian Magazine: “Blue whale penises range between eight and ten feet, with a foot-long diameter. Each of its testes alone can weigh up to 150 pounds and can ejaculate gallons of sperm in a single go.”
Actually quite unfathomable, isn’t it?