Why Bird Penises Are So Weird
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.
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Show Notes
To learn more about this topic, 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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