In an obnoxiously bizarre discovery, the researchers have discovered rare insect species in the caves of Brazil with sex-reversed genitals. It means females have penis-like organs and males have a vagina-like opening into which females insert their organ during mating.
This is not the end to this weird discovery, these insects even mate for an impressive 40-70 hours.
According to the scientists, these insects belong to the genus Neotrogla. This is the first example of an animal with sex-reversed genitals.
These insects are one tenth to one and a half tenths of an inch long (2.7 mm-3.7 mm). They appear like flies. They have nothing particularly unusual about their appearance aside from their genital structures.
Kazunori Yoshizawa, of Hokkaido University in Japan, said, “Although sex-role reversal has been identified in several different animals, Neotrogla is the only example in which the intromittent organ is also reversed.”
The researchers believe that the sex organs and sex-role reversal in these insects are likely due to the evolutionary time by the resource-poor cave environment in which they live.
According to Yoshizawa, the male insects provide females with nutritious seminal gifts in addition to sperm, making it advantageous for females to mate at a higher rate.
The study was published in the journal Current Biology.
