Dolphins Have a Fully Functional Clitoris, Study Finds

homo and dolphins have even more in common than we might have consider , new enquiry suggests . Biologists say they ’ve found percipient anatomical grounds that distaff mahimahi have a fully functional clitoris that avail them experience delight during sex — just as it does for humans . The findings may one day help scientist retrace back the evolutionary origins of the sexual organ and sex activity in universal .

Lead author Patricia Brennan , an assistant professor of biologic sciences at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts , and her squad have been canvas the phylogeny of genitals in all sort of vertebrate creature . More recently , they turned their attention to dolphins , the maritime mammal known for their playful and eerily human - like nature at meter ( in waysgood and bad ) .

“ Dolphins have vaginal bend , and we were study these folds to essay to figure out their function and why they are so divers across specie , ” Brennan told Gizmodo in an e-mail . “ As we dissected all these vaginas , the clitoris was plain very well developed , so we adjudicate to inquire how much we know about it . ”

Photo: Joe Raedle/Newsmakers (Getty Images)

Brennan and her squad were capable to closely look at the clitoric tissue paper of 11 bottlenose dolphin female that had cash in one’s chips of natural causes . Aside from read the surface strong-arm features of the button , they also examine the mien of nerve close , musculus , and blood vessels . Everything they establish steer to the same affair : a in full working funmaker .

For one , Brennan note , the dolphinfish clit is relatively enceinte and fill with plenty of erectile tissue and blood vessels that allow it to gourmandize speedily . Their clit also acquire in size as a dolphin matures , much as it does with human puberty , and it ’s palisade by a band of connective tissue paper that help it keep its bod , bespeak that it ’s a valuable consistence part . And perhaps most importantly , the dolphin clitoris is chock full of nerve ending right underneath relatively tenuous skin , along with other sensorial sense organ — both of which , Brennan says , “ are belike ask in a pleasure response like they are in human beings . ”

It ’s no secret that some mintage of mahimahi seem to betroth in intimate behaviors outside of thestrict criterion and timingneeded for reproduction ( even with humans , according to someeyewitness accounts ) . It’swidely thoughtthat these dolphins practice gender as a social lubricating substance . During mating , they appear to engage in plentiful quantity of foreplay before the brief full point of penetrating sex . Both male and female dolphins are call back to she-bop , and there have been report of homosexual demeanour among both sexual practice , include female dolphins rubbing each others ’ button using their nozzle or flipper . So it put up to reason that the clitoris would play a key purpose in all this fun - having . But the authors say theirs is the first anatomic research to intelligibly certify this design .

Dolphins engaging in sexual behavior.

Dolphins engaging in sexual behavior.Photo: Dara Orbach

“ While it may seem obvious that beast that prosecute in as much intimate deportment as dolphinfish do should be derive pleasure from this behavior , we can now use geomorphologic features of the button to show that they in reality do , ” said Brennan . Though Brennan and her team havepreviously discussedthis enquiry , their equal - go over discipline has now beenpublishedin Current Biology .

Dolphins are n’t the only creature besides human being thatappear to enjoy sexand to do it for non - reproductive reason ; many of our archpriest congenator seem to as well . But the fact that the dolphinfish clit is so exchangeable to the human version , despite dolphins and human beings probably being95 million years apartin the evolutionary family tree , could suggest that the electric organ ’s ancestry go right smart , right smart back . And given therisksthat can come with sexual urge , it make sense that pleasance would develop as a motivating factor .

Studying the sex lives of creature is no well-fixed task . But Brennan and her workfellow aim out that the nature of female sexuality and the clitoris has long been understudied in animals and inhumans . Among other things , this want of knowledge hamper our knowledge of how sex came to be in the first place .

Large nerves in a dolphin clitoris

Large nerves in a dolphin clitorisImage: Patricia Brennan

“ Sex is key to evolutionary mental process , and our ignorance of distaff sexuality results in an incomplete understanding of how gender actually works in nature . ” Brennan said . “ You involve two to tango , as the locution function ! ”

Brennan ’s team project to keep studying the phylogeny of genitals in various beast . That list of projects will stay to include dolphin , but also snakes , Lama pacos , and even alligators .

AnimalsBiologyDolphinHuman sexualityWomen ’s health

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