Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!mcsun!ukc!educ-isis!teexmmo
From: teexmmo@ioe.lon.ac.uk (Matthew Moore)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Questions about sex
Summary: elephants do it differently
Message-ID: <1990Aug6.162409.24034@ioe.lon.ac.uk>
Date: 6 Aug 90 16:24:09 GMT
References: <37900@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <2950@aecom.yu.edu>
Reply-To: teexmmo@ioe.lon.ac.uk (Matthew Moore)
Organization: Institute of Education University of London
Lines: 42

(Craig Werner) writes:
(Greg Kuperberg) writes:
>> The readers of this news group will have to excuse my ignorance on
>> this subject.  I have some basic questions about the mechanics of
>> sex among large animals.
>> 
>> In what position do a cow and a bull, for example, have sex?  I have
>> trouble imagining the bull mounting the cow from behind without breaking
>> her back.  How about elephants?  Rhinoceri?  Does the technique vary
>> between different large mammals?

How about porcupines?


>
>	Elephants have a very interesting mechanism. Two sets of muscles
>which are rudimentary in humans are fully developed to good use in bull
>elephants.  In the case of elephants, thrusting would in fact probably
>severely injure the female.  However, the elephant's penis, thanks to the
>aforementioned adaptation is capable of thrusting forward and back while
>the hips remain motionless.  Furthermore, these same muscles retract the
>penis into a body cavity of sorts when it is "not in use."
>	

This is not the whole story though, is it?

According to Morgan, (Descent of Women, and her later summary of the
Hardy-Morgan theory), elephantine copulation is rendered unusual by
the position of the vaginal opening. It is not found in the "usual"
posterior position (ie under the tail), but is situated ventrally, (ie
somewhere near the navel).

What happens in copulation is that Mr. Elephant has to adopt an
unusual sitting/kneeling posture in order to get his (rather long,
even for an elephant) penis anywhere near Mrs Elephant's opening. Once
in this position, he would find pelvic motion difficult, so those well
developed muscular adaptions come in useful.

(Morgan uses the elephant as an example of an animal partially adapted
to aquatic life - rudimentary fur, some evidence for face to face
copulation, webbing of digits, good swimming ability, and a built in
snorkel).