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Why Bird Penises Are So Weird

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Male birds have the largest genital diversity of any class of animals because their sex chromosomes make it easy to pass male-helping mutations down the line.
Thanks also to our supporters on
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To learn more, start your googling with these keywords:
Sex chromosome: A chromosome involved in determining the sex of an individual.
Cloaca: A posterior orifice that serves as the only exit for the gastrointestinal, urinary and genital tracts.
Mutation: An alteration in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene.
Sexually-selected Trait: A trait based on a mutation that confers a reproductive advantage.
BMP4: A protein whose presence halts the growth of bird penises in the egg.
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If you liked this week’s video, you might also like:
An article from The Week about some of the strangest penises in the animal kingdom:
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Credits (and Twitter handles):
Script Writer: David Goldenberg (@dgoldenberg)
Script Editor: Kate Yoshida (@KateYoshida)
Video Illustrator: Ever Salazar (@eversalazar)
Video Director: Emily Elert (@eelert)
Video Narrator: Emily Elert (@eelert)
With Contributions From: Henry Reich, Alex Reich, Peter Reich
Music by: Nathaniel Schroeder:
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References:
Brennan, P. and Prum, R. (2015). Mechanisms and Evidence of Genital Coevolution: The Roles of Natural Selection,Mate Choice, and Sexual Conflict. 1-21. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology. Retrieved from:
Brennan, P. (2013). Genital Evolution: Cock-a-Doodle-Don’t. Current Biology. R523-R525. Retrieved from:
Brennan, P., Birkhead, T., Zyskowski, K., van der Waagand, J., and Prum, R. (2008). Independent evolutionary reductions of the phallus in basal birds. Journal of Avian Biology, 39: 487-492. Retrieved from: .
Briskie, J. and Montgomerie, R. (1997). Sexual selection and the intromittent organ of birds. Journal of Avian Biology. 28: 73-86. Retrieved from:
Herrera, A., Brennan, P., and Cohn, M. (2014). Development of Avian External Genitalia: Interspecific Differences and Sexual Differentiation of the Male and Female Phallus. Sexual Development. 9: 43-52. Retrieved from: .
Reinhold, K. (1998). Sex linkage among genes controlling sexually selected traits. Sexual Selection. 44:1-7. Retrieved from: .
Image Credits:
Mandarin Ducks - Francis C. Franklin
Gorillas - Based on photo by Wikimedia user No escape
Lake Duck Penis - Kevin McCracken (Published in Nature 2001)
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