Retiree records bat sex in church attic, helps scientists solve mystery of species' "super long" penis
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Scientists have solved the mystery of one of the animal kingdom's most disproportionately large penises thanks to a Dutch retiree recording bat sex in a church attic. The serotine bat does not use its strangely large penis for penetration, but instead as a "copulatory arm" during mating, a European team of researchers said on Monday. This marks the first time that a mammal has been documented reproducing without having penetrative sex, the researchers added. The serotine bat, which has a wingspan of more than 14 inches, is common in woodlands across Europe and Asia. Nicolas Fasel, a researcher at Switzerland 's University of Lausanne, told Agence France-Presse that his team had been working on the bat for years and had observed that its "penis is super long when it is erect." This picture shows a juvenile serotine bat inside the Natural History Museum of Bourges, France, on June 30, 202...