Why Was the Study of Snake Clitoris Delayed by Scientists? | Scientific Research

Before mating, a male (silver) and female (brown) common European adder meet. Female snake anatomy has only recently begun to be understood by scientists. For over a century, biologists have focused on the sexual organs of male lizards and snakes, known as the hemipenes, while the female equivalent, hemiclitores, were only described in detail in 1995. Even intersex reptile anatomy was assumed to be vestigial or merely additional stimulation for male reptiles. This bias towards male genital anatomy in animal research has led to confusion surrounding female and intersex squamates. Recent research has finally identified hemiclitores in at least nine snake species from four different families, revealing that they are specialized structures that play a role in snake mating. The anatomy of hemiclitores can vary between snake species and is essential to understanding their behavior and even identifying intersex snakes. The sexist beliefs surrounding women and their place in society have spilled over into research on animal anatomy, creating a sex bias in museum collections and research focus. The underrepresentation of non-male animals in research and collections has led to the neglect of anatomical structures such as the baubellum in mammals, which is the female equivalent of the baculum. These misapprehensions of animal and human anatomy have more to do with sexist cultural projections than reality.

 

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