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From: sbishop@desire.wright.edu
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: Questions about sex
Message-ID: <992.26bea8b4@desire.wright.edu>
Date: 7 Aug 90 16:40:36 GMT
References: <37900@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <2950@aecom.yu.edu> <1990Aug6.162409.24034@ioe.lon.ac.uk>
Lines: 53

In article <1990Aug6.162409.24034@ioe.lon.ac.uk>, teexmmo@ioe.lon.ac.uk (Matthew Moore) writes:
> (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?
> 
> 

Well, after observing a romantic pair at the zoo once, they copulate the same
way, only the male has a VERY LONG penis and is very careful!  ;-)

>>
>>	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).

Yes, this seems to be an aquatic adaptation.  Interested persons might want to
read _The Aquatic Ape_ which proposes the theory that man is an partially
adapted aquatic animal.  Take a good look at the description above.  We have
all of those except the built in snorkel and webbing of digits.  We also have
the mammalian dive reflex....