@Infidel: Ha, ha, ha. Hilarious. Ever since I read this I've been laughing while trying to come up with something that was half as funny, but the alliteration side of my brain is on the blink today. A good one, though.
@jadedj: Good point. Actually, there seems to be several schools of thought. Some scientists seem to think they did not have penises at all or, if they did, they were very tiny.
As mentioned above, sex organs--since they're made of easily biodegradable "soft" tissues--are virtually never preserved in the fossil record. For this reason, paleontologists can't say for sure if male dinosaurs had penises, or if female dinosaurs had something even remotely approximating the modern mammalian vagina. (You can stop laughing now: from a biological standpoint, there's no reason a hundred-foot long sauropod would need a penis the size of a Lincoln Town Car, though you have to admit it is an arresting image).
Based on the anatomy of modern reptiles, though, it's more likely that male and female dinosaurs had cloacas--primitive orifices used for urination, defecation, and copulation. Once a male and female dinosaur arranged themselves into the right position, sex by cloaca would have been a simple affair; all that would have been needed was a few seconds for the male to deposit his sperm in close proximity to the female's eggs. Talk about anticlimactic: it's possible that sex between two huge dinosaurs lasted only as long as a good sneeze!
Thanks, Shaw. Actually, I was just being kind of snarky when I put this up, half wondering if dinos even had pricks to prick their females with. And now it's turned into a rather intriguing question totally by accident.
"The gonads … of both birds and reptiles are confined within the body so it is safe to assume the same was true of dinosaurs. With nothing hangin' in the breeze …"
And of course, thanks to you, I get to practice adding links in comments. We'll see if it works. ;)
Leave it to you to get me thinking (and giggling uproariously) about dinosaur sex!!!! Beats the hell outta thinking about the GOP or the annual greedfest.
@Jerry: I agree but I'm not sure there aren't more intelligent Republicans out there than we realize - those who are conservative fiscally but not socially and who are very concerned about the religious right's influence. We just don't hear much from them, except on rare occasions. I sincerely feel sorry for them because they no longer have a viable political party and must feel betrayed. Many of them, I think, will stay home or make the switch, which should help the Democrats - I hope.
@Magpie: I don't think I'd ask MB for the time of day. It's just amazing to me that she's been able to get this far in politics. Good Gawd.
@Kay; It is kind of funny, but like I said, it started out as a bit of snark. Believe it or not, at first I wasn't really thinking in terms of the GOP in this case but more in terms of dinos on the hard left. But, as I've said on more than one occasion, they are often mirror images of each other. Yes, I know, my mind works in strange ways but the great thing about this is that I've learned something new and it turns out to be actually kind of interesting.
Ha! I support no school dat has thoughts in it.... thinking at home is hard enough! Besides...you make a school outa thoughts and Rick Perry will huff and puff and blowwwwws it all down!
Doubtless dino dongs developed dramatic dimensions.
ReplyDelete@Infidel: Ha, ha, ha. Hilarious. Ever since I read this I've been laughing while trying to come up with something that was half as funny, but the alliteration side of my brain is on the blink today. A good one, though.
ReplyDeleteEvidently, long enough. On the other hand, maybe not...there are no more of them.
ReplyDelete@jadedj: Good point. Actually, there seems to be several schools of thought. Some scientists seem to think they did not have penises at all or, if they did, they were very tiny.
ReplyDeleteDid Dinosaurs Have Sex Organs?
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned above, sex organs--since they're made of easily biodegradable "soft" tissues--are virtually never preserved in the fossil record. For this reason, paleontologists can't say for sure if male dinosaurs had penises, or if female dinosaurs had something even remotely approximating the modern mammalian vagina. (You can stop laughing now: from a biological standpoint, there's no reason a hundred-foot long sauropod would need a penis the size of a Lincoln Town Car, though you have to admit it is an arresting image).
Based on the anatomy of modern reptiles, though, it's more likely that male and female dinosaurs had cloacas--primitive orifices used for urination, defecation, and copulation. Once a male and female dinosaur arranged themselves into the right position, sex by cloaca would have been a simple affair; all that would have been needed was a few seconds for the male to deposit his sperm in close proximity to the female's eggs. Talk about anticlimactic: it's possible that sex between two huge dinosaurs lasted only as long as a good sneeze!
Ms. T-Rex: AAAAAAAAchoooo!
Mr. T-Rex: Was it good for you?
Thanks, Shaw. Actually, I was just being kind of snarky when I put this up, half wondering if dinos even had pricks to prick their females with. And now it's turned into a rather intriguing question totally by accident.
ReplyDeleteOne place I found this rather interesting measurement: The male member of enormous dinosaurs like Titanosaurus probably reached 12 feet in length.
But then there's this in a piece about how dinasaurs had sex.
"The gonads … of both birds and reptiles are confined within the body so it is safe to assume the same was true of dinosaurs. With nothing hangin' in the breeze …"
And of course, thanks to you, I get to practice adding links in comments. We'll see if it works. ;)
Sometimes I wonder if republicans have penises...at least the male republicans, that is.
ReplyDelete@Jerry: I don't think I'd want to get close enough to find out. My ex was one but I'd like to think he'd say something like Danforth said.
ReplyDeletehttp://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/12/01/380148/john-danforth-slams-gop-field/
I would hope that all republicans would say something like Danforth said.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, only the intelligent ones do...and they are in the minority.
Ask Michele Bachmann.
ReplyDeleteShe is the undisputed expert on pre-history and knows much more about where all God’s creatures came from than all them smarty-pants scientists.
Leave it to you to get me thinking (and giggling uproariously) about dinosaur sex!!!! Beats the hell outta thinking about the GOP or the annual greedfest.
ReplyDelete@Jerry: I agree but I'm not sure there aren't more intelligent Republicans out there than we realize - those who are conservative fiscally but not socially and who are very concerned about the religious right's influence. We just don't hear much from them, except on rare occasions. I sincerely feel sorry for them because they no longer have a viable political party and must feel betrayed. Many of them, I think, will stay home or make the switch, which should help the Democrats - I hope.
ReplyDelete@Magpie: I don't think I'd ask MB for the time of day. It's just amazing to me that she's been able to get this far in politics. Good Gawd.
@Kay; It is kind of funny, but like I said, it started out as a bit of snark. Believe it or not, at first I wasn't really thinking in terms of the GOP in this case but more in terms of dinos on the hard left. But, as I've said on more than one occasion, they are often mirror images of each other. Yes, I know, my mind works in strange ways but the great thing about this is that I've learned something new and it turns out to be actually kind of interesting.
How long is a dino dong? Lemmee unzip,get back to you later:)
ReplyDelete@ok: Depends. Which school of thought do you support? The 12 footer or the none? ; )
ReplyDeleteHa! I support no school dat has thoughts in it.... thinking at home is hard enough! Besides...you make a school outa thoughts and Rick Perry will huff and puff and blowwwwws it all down!
ReplyDeleteAmazing, the things you wonder about, L.P. It's definitely a welcome change of pace from all the attention the GOP's answer to Austin Powers.
ReplyDelete@ok; hah.
ReplyDelete@SW: Twisted?
Oh dear, I just noticed okjimm hasn't gotten back to you yet.
ReplyDelete@Murr: LOL. okjimm had to go to a wedding this weekend. Maybe when he gets back we'll hear further?
ReplyDelete