Penises come in a remarkable range of shapes and sizes, says Stuart Blackman, as he investigates which animal has the biggest <\/p>
Considering their\u00a0rather straightforward\u00a0function in life\u00a0(to deliver\u00a0a male\u2019s\u00a0sperm<\/a> into\u00a0a female\u2019s body to fertilise her eggs),\u00a0penises come in a remarkable range of shapes and sizes.<\/strong><\/p> Long\u00a0ones,\u00a0short ones, thick, thin, straight, bent, branching and\u00a0curly ones.\u00a0Some have a bone inside them, others are inflatable, and\u00a0many are\u00a0adorned with all\u00a0manner\u00a0of bristles, hooks, folds, flaps\u00a0and\u00a0flanges.<\/p> Size-wise, it\u2019s probably no great surprise that the biggest\u00a0penis of all belongs to the\u00a0largest animal ever to have existed. A\u00a0blue whale<\/a>\u2019s penis\u00a0extends to\u00a0up to\u00a0three\u00a0metres\u00a0in length.\u00a0That\u2019s considerably bigger than an elephant<\/a>\u2019s (one to two\u00a0metres), which is\u00a0probably\u00a0the record-holder among land animals.\u00a0<\/p> But there\u2019s also relative size\u00a0to\u00a0consider. A blue whale\u2019s penis\u00a0is about a\u00a0tenth\u00a0the length of the\u00a0animal\u00a0itself.\u00a0<\/p> But a\u00a0male Argentine lake duck\u2019s\u00a0is about as long as he is.\u00a0Proportionately, it\u2019s\u00a0the biggest penis among all vertebrates\u00a0(and it also happens to be shaped like a corkscrew).\u00a0<\/p>Which animal has the biggest penis?<\/h2>
The duck corkscrew penis<\/h2>