The serotine bat may be the first mammal known to mate without using penetration.
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Bats have long been the odd ones out among mammals.
They are the only creatures in this branch of the animal kingdom capable of powered flight. Now researchers say they have discovered another unique trait, with video revealing that the serotine bat may be the first mammal known to mate without using penetration.
Also known by the scientific name Eptesicus serotinus, serotine bats mate by touching their genitals together.The male
...reproduction from storing sperm to extending the duration of a pregnancy,” she explained.There are few bat biologists, and most tend to focus on the more obvious yet still fascinating aspects of bat biology such as flight and echolocation, “rather than what the bats are doing ‘behind closed doors,’” Orr said.