Great article in Olivia Judson’s biology blog at the Times:
Did T. rex have a penis? Did he even, as lizards do, have two?
I ask the question not out of prurience, but because it’s a matter of scientific interest. There are a couple of reasons why. First, the penis is another important indicator of the mating system. In species where females usually mate with a single male during a breeding episode, penises tend to be small and uninteresting. In those where females mate with several males (whether by choice or by force), penises are typically larger, and come with fancy decorations such as grooves, nobbles, and spikes. Second, the question of the dinosaur penis provides an exercise in evolutionary inference.
Grooved and spiked penises! Judson goes on to talk about other fun stuff . Reptiles, for example, have an outside groove that transports sperm rather than an inner tube.
Also: Image is by Timothy J Ferreira, who was inspired by the CGI in Jurassic Park to make a drawing. It’s from a message board dedicated to fan art that’s pretty funny. (An amazing internet wormhole—witness all the weird porno we found.) Here were the reactions to Timothy’s drawing:
Very nicely colored. The head is great, but the proportions are a little off around the hips. How you wanna see Jurassic Park? You come to MY gallery.
You have a Roaring Stomping T-rex, don’t you. Don’t you?! Hee hee…It’s a nice angle and I like the head especially. The feet look a little small for perspective, but they’re always the hardest part for me too. =)
uhhhh, this is INTERESTING. But uhh, i think u could do a LITTLE bit better. No offence, except for the head, it looks like crap….sorry.
Whew. That’s a tough room. Keep your head up Timothy.