Researchers have found a fossil with the oldest penis on record.
Fossilised crustacean boasts oldest penis
15:20 05 December 03
A newly discovered 425 million-year-old fossil boasts a lurid claim to fame – it has the oldest penis on record.
The five millimetre long crustacean, discovered by UK and US researchers, has been named Colymbosathon ecplecticos – derived from the Greek for “astounding swimmer with a large penis”.
The well-endowed creature is surprisingly similar to modern relatives, despite being entombed nearly half a billion years ago, says the team.
David Siveter, a paleontologist at the University of Leicester, and colleagues unearthed the clamlike species in a rock formation in Herefordshire, UK. The creature possesses a hard shell, an organ for grabbing prey, six gills, as well as a “copulatory organ [that] is large and stout”, says the team. [NewScientist.com]