Penis Spines, Pearly Papules, and Pope Benedict’s Balls | The Primate Diaries, Scientific American Blog Network

Penis Spines, Pearly Papules, and Pope Benedict’s Balls The Primate Diaries, Scientific American Blog Network

Throughout the Order Primates, as well as in many other mammal species, males have developed small (and sometimes not so small) keratinized structures along the head and/or shaft of their penis that have been adapted to maximize reproductive success. According to the, rather appropriately named, primatologist Alan Dixson in his book Primate Sexuality, these spines can be simple, single-pointed structures like in macaques or complex ones with two or three points per spine like in the prosimians (lemurs and lorises). These different forms of penis spine therefore suggest different mating strategies that various species have adopted during their evolution.