Recently, scientists discovered that hawkmoths have an unusual defense against bat sonar—by rubbing their genitals together, the moths produce ultrasonic sounds of their own. These sounds jam the bat’s sonar and give the moths a chance to escape.
Hawkmoths aren’t the only animals that use their genitals in unexpected ways. Flatworms are another example of a different use of the genitals:
Flatworm Penis Fencing
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Marine flatworms (Pseudobiceros hancockanus) are hermaphrodites, having both male and female genitalia. When they mate, they have to determine who will become the mom and who will become the dad. And since creating eggs takes more energy than creating sperm, both partners would prefer to use their male parts to impregnate the other..jpg)
They decide who gets to be the daddy with a clash of their penises. The flatworms parry with their dagger-like genitalia, attempting to stab their partner in order to inseminate it. The first to succeed becomes the male of the pair, delivering its sperm into the other.
