By Rebecca Morelle, Science reporter, BBC
World Service
A sea slug that is able to detach, re-grow
and then re-use its penis has surprised scientists.
Japanese researchers observed the bizarre
mating behaviour in a species called Chromodoris
reticulata, which is found in the Pacific Ocean.
They believe this is the first creature
known that can repeatedly copulate with what they describe as a
"disposable penis".
The study
is published in the Royal Society's journal Biology Letters.
Male and female
The sex life of the sea slug is complicated
even before detachable organs come into play.
“I haven't seen anything like this before”, Bernard
Picton National Museums Northern Ireland
Almost all of these creatures, which are
also known as nudibranchs, are thought to be "simultaneous
hermaphrodites". This means they have both male and female sexual organs
and can use them both at the same time.
Bernard Picton, curator of marine
invertebrates at the National Museums Northern Ireland, explained: "The
genital apparatus is on the right hand side of the body. So two nudibranchs
come together and one faces one way and one faces the other way, with the right
hand side of their bodies touching.
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