![]() This evolutionary advantage of producing large amounts of sperm can explain the relatively large testicle size of chimpanzees. The male who produces more sperm will have the best chance of fertilizing an egg. Sperm can live for up to 4 days after ejaculation, and consequently when females mate with two males in close succession, sperm from two males can be in direct competition. ![]() Chimpanzees live in large multi-male, multi-female groups, where females are able to mate with many males. In fact, generally speaking, the mating system of a species can be used to predict penis size. So, what causes these seemingly contradictory differences among the great apes, and how can evolutionary theory make sense of all creatures great and small? Sperm CompetitionĪs Freud’s quote suggests, the clue to the evolution of the penis is not just in their physical appearance but also in the social aspects of sex. Moreover, while silverbacks are formidable looking creatures, gorillas in fact have the smallest penis to body size ratio of any mammal. It is also useful to mention some more unusual facts: firstly, while chimpanzees have penises half the size of humans, they have testicles three times as large. Despite the frequently discussed individual variation in human penis size, the shaft of an average human penis is around twice the length and width of the shaft of an average chimpanzee penis. When Sigmund Freud wrote this in 1912, he may have been surprised to hear that some hundred years later, evolutionary theory would come to the same conclusions. Anatomy is destiny … The genitals themselves have not taken part in the development of the human body in the direction of beauty: they have remained animal, and thus love, too, has remained in essence just as animal as it ever was.
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