Penis fencing

Last updated
Two flatworms of the species Pseudobiceros bedfordi preparing for penis fencing. P. bedfordi is exceptional in that it applies sperm onto the partner's skin rather than injecting it. Mating Pseudobiceros bedfordi.png
Two flatworms of the species Pseudobiceros bedfordi preparing for penis fencing. P. bedfordi is exceptional in that it applies sperm onto the partner's skin rather than injecting it.

Penis fencing is a mating behavior engaged in by many species of flatworm, such as Pseudobiceros hancockanus . Species which engage in the practice are hermaphroditic; each individual has both egg-producing ovaries and sperm-producing testes. [1]

Contents

The flatworms "fence" using extendable two-headed dagger-like stylets. These stylets are pointed (and in some species hooked) in order to pierce their mate's epidermis and inject sperm into the haemocoel in an act known as intradermal hypodermic insemination, or traumatic insemination. Pairs can either compete, with only one individual transferring sperm to the other, or the pair can transfer sperm bilaterally. Both forms of sperm transfer can occur in the same species, depending on various factors. [2]

Unilateral sperm transfer

One organism will inseminate the other, with the inseminating individual being the father. The sperm is absorbed through pores or sometimes wounds in the skin from the partner's stylet, causing fertilization in the other, who becomes the mother. [3] [4] [5] The battle may last for up to an hour in some species. [6]

Parturition, while necessary for successful offspring production, requires a considerable parental investment in time and energy, and according to Bateman's principle, almost always burdens the mother. Thus, from an optimality model it is usually preferable for an organism to inseminate than to be inseminated. However, in many species that engage in this form of copulatory competition, each father will continue to fence with other partners until it is inseminated. In Alderia modesta , individuals will store sperm from several "fencing matches" before laying their eggs, and smaller individuals will more often inseminate a larger partner, with larger individuals spending more energy on laying eggs when paired with a smaller partner on the occasion that they transfer sperm unilaterally. [7]

In the absence of potential mates, some species such as Neobenedenia melleni are capable of reproducing through self-insemination. [8]

Bilateral sperm transfer

Commonly, many hermaphroditic species mutually inseminate, or trade sperm, rather than compete, Chelidonura sandrana as an example. [4] [9] The tiger flatworm, Maritigrella crozieri, also transfers sperm bilaterally. [10] In many species that engage in bilateral insemination, sperm trading is conditional. If one partner "cheats", and does not transfer sperm, the other partner will either prematurely abandon the partner, or will engage in typical mating behavior without transferring sperm. [9] [11] Other species will alternate which partner transfers sperm, engaging in multiple bouts of fencing with the same partner over time. In A. modesta, bilateral sperm transfer is the most common, especially in similarly sized mate pairs. [7]

Other uses

The term is also applied, usually informally, to homosexual activity between two males among bonobos; same-sex genital-genital rubbing is used in bonobo society to cement bonds, reduce conflict, and express communal excitement over food. [12] Several whale species also engage in penis fencing. [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mating</span> Process of pairing in biology

In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. Fertilization is the fusion of two gametes. Copulation is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproducing animals for insemination and subsequent internal fertilization. Mating may also lead to external fertilization, as seen in amphibians, fishes and plants. For most species, mating is between two individuals of opposite sexes. However, for some hermaphroditic species, copulation is not required because the parent organism is capable of self-fertilization (autogamy); for example, banana slugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal sexual behaviour</span> Sexual behavior of non-human animals

Animal sexual behaviour takes many different forms, including within the same species. Common mating or reproductively motivated systems include monogamy, polygyny, polyandry, polygamy and promiscuity. Other sexual behaviour may be reproductively motivated or non-reproductively motivated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual conflict</span> Term in evolutionary biology

Sexual conflict or sexual antagonism occurs when the two sexes have conflicting optimal fitness strategies concerning reproduction, particularly over the mode and frequency of mating, potentially leading to an evolutionary arms race between males and females. In one example, males may benefit from multiple matings, while multiple matings may harm or endanger females due to the anatomical differences of that species. Sexual conflict underlies the evolutionary distinction between male and female.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pseudocerotidae</span> Family of flatworms

Pseudocerotidae is a family of flatworms which includes the Bedford's flatworm. Pseudocerotidae are simple organisms categorized by their oval bodies and tentacles and bright colors. They use the cilia to glide along surfaces. Most commonly referred to as marine flatworms, closely related to the orders Macrostomorpha and Lecithoepitheliata. These organisms have very complex reproductive systems, no blood systems or organs for gas exchange, a simple brain and are hermaphroditic.

<i>Pseudoceros</i> Genus of flatworms

Pseudoceros is a genus of the flatworms Platyhelminthes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traumatic insemination</span> Mating practice in invertebrates

Traumatic insemination, also known as hypodermic insemination, is the mating practice in some species of invertebrates in which the male pierces the female's abdomen with his aedeagus and injects his sperm through the wound into her abdominal cavity (hemocoel). The sperm diffuses through the female's hemolymph, reaching the ovaries and resulting in fertilization.

<i>Pseudobiceros</i> Genus of flatworms

Pseudobiceros is a genus of flatworms. Like all flatworms, Pseudobiceros are hermaphrodites. This particular genus engages in penis fencing. When the "winner" touches its penis to the "skin" of the other, insemination occurs, and the "loser" has to bear the burden of motherhood.

<i>Pseudobiceros hancockanus</i> Species of flatworm

Pseudobiceros hancockanus is a species of hermaphroditic marine flatworm in the family Pseudocerotidae. It is also known as Hancock's Flatworm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love dart</span> Darts that some snails shoot into each other during mating

A love dart is a sharp, calcareous or chitinous dart which some hermaphroditic land snails and slugs create. Love darts are both formed and stored internally in a dart sac. These darts are made in sexually mature animals only, and are used as part of the sequence of events during courtship, before actual mating takes place. Darts are quite large compared to the size of the animal: in the case of the semi-slug genus Parmarion, the length of a dart can be up to one fifth that of the semi-slug's foot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gastropteridae</span> Family of gastropods

Gastropteridae, the bat-winged slugs, is a family of sea slugs, gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Philinoidea of the clade Cephalaspidea, the headshield slugs and bubble snails. The greatest diversity of these colourful small slugs is in the tropical and sub-tropical Indo-Pacific region.

<i>Pseudobiceros bedfordi</i> Species of flatworm

Pseudobiceros bedfordi is a species of flatworm in the family Pseudocerotidae.

Maritigrella crozierae, the tiger flatworm, is a species of marine polyclad flatworm in the family Euryleptidae. It is found on the eastern coasts of North America and the Caribbean Sea where it feeds on colonial sea squirts.

<i>Siphopteron quadrispinosum</i> Species of gastropod

Siphopteron quadrispinosum is a species of small sea slug, a marine opisthobranch gastropod mollusc in the order Cephalaspidea, the headshield slugs. This slug is a simultaneous hermaphrodite.

<i>Thysanozoon nigropapillosum</i> Species of flatworm

Thysanozoon nigropapillosum is a species of polyclad flatworms belonging to the family Pseudocerotidae. Some common names include Gold-speckled flatworm, Marine flatworm, Yellow papillae flatworm, Yellow-spotted flatworm, and Yellow-spotted polyclad flatworm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mating of gastropods</span>

The mating of gastropods is a vast and varied topic, because the taxonomic class Gastropoda is very large and diverse, a group comprising sea snails and sea slugs, freshwater snails and land snails and slugs. Gastropods are second only to the class Insecta in terms of total number of species. Some gastropods have separate sexes, others are hermaphroditic. Some hermaphroditic groups have simultaneous hermaphroditism, whereas some sequential hermaphroditism. In addition, numerous very different mating strategies are used within different taxa.

Macrostomum hystrix is a free-living flatworm in the family Macrostomidae. It is small, transparent, and a simultaneous hermaphrodite.

<i>Alderia modesta</i> Species of gastropod

Alderia modesta is a species of sea slug, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Limapontiidae. It is found in estuarine habitats and saltmarshes on either side of the North Atlantic and the North Pacific Oceans.

<i>Phestilla minor</i> Species of gastropod

Phestilla minor is a species of sea slug in the Trichechidae family. It is a type of aeolid nudibranch under the Aeolidina suborder. Phestilla minor is a benthic sea slug that is a very small, slow-moving organism found in marine habitats all over the world.

Pseudoceros canadensis, commonly known as the Puget flatworm, is a species of free-living flatworm in the genus Pseudoceros, belonging to the family Pseudocerotidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Self-insemination</span> Mating behavior

Self-insemination is a mating behavior engaged in by multiple flatworm species, such as the free-living Macrostomum hystrix, and some sea slugs. Species that engage in this method of reproduction are hermaphroditic, meaning they possess both male and female reproductive organs. Selfing is referred to as a conditional reproductive strategy in this species, which means that there is a preference to reproduce with a mate.

References

  1. Leslie Newman. "Fighting to mate: flatworm penis fencing". PBS.
  2. Schmitt, Valerie; Anthes, Nils; Michiels, Nico K (2007-07-04). "Mating behaviour in the sea slug Elysia timida (Opisthobranchia, Sacoglossa): hypodermic injection, sperm transfer and balanced reciprocity". Frontiers in Zoology. 4: 17. doi: 10.1186/1742-9994-4-17 . ISSN   1742-9994. PMC   1934903 . PMID   17610714.
  3. Michiels, N.K.; Newman, L.J. (1998). "Sex and violence in hermaphrodites". Nature. 391 (6668): 647. Bibcode:1998Natur.391..647M. doi: 10.1038/35527 .
  4. 1 2 Hermaphrodites duel for manhood, Science News Online. Accessed 14 March 2009. Archived March 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Sonne, L., Coyote, P., Newman, L. (2001). The shape of life (rm) (Television production). PBS . Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  6. "World's Weirdest: Flatworm Penis Fencing". National Geographic. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  7. 1 2 Angeloni, Lisa (21 October 2002). "Sexual selection in a simultaneous hermaphrodite with hypodermic insemination: body size, allocation to sexual roles and paternity" (PDF). Animal Behaviour. 66 (3): 417–426. doi:10.1006/anbe.2003.2255. S2CID   27845838 . Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  8. Kearn, G., Whittington, I. (2014). Sperm transfer in monogenean (platyhelminth) parasites. Acta Parasitologica, 60(4), 567-600. DOI: 10.1515/ap-2015-0082
  9. 1 2 Dall, SR; Wedell, N (2005-10-11). "Evolutionary Conflict: Sperm Wars, Phantom Inseminations". Current Biology. 15 (19): R801–R803. Bibcode:2005CBio...15.R801D. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2005.09.019. PMID   16213811.
  10. Danh, Nguyen. "What is the geometric probability of mating success in flatworms, Platyhelminthes?". dspace.nelson.usf.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2015-12-02.
  11. Anthes, Nils; Putz, Annika; Michiels, Nico K. (2005-10-11). "Gender trading in a hermaphrodite". Current Biology. 15 (19): R792–R793. Bibcode:2005CBio...15.R792A. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2005.09.035 . PMID   16213807.
  12. De Waal, Frans B.M. (June 1, 2006). "Bonobo Sex and Society". Scientific American. Retrieved 27 October 2018.
  13. Bruce Bagemihl, Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity, St. Martin's Press, 1999; ISBN   978-0312253776