Scientists finally found the clitoris on snakes – and there are two

Researchers discovered the primary proof of a two-part sexual organ known as a hemiclitoris in all 9 species of feminine snakes they examined

By Corryn Wetzel

Female snakes haven’t one, however two clitorises, in response to analysis documenting the primary formal proof of the sexual organ in snakes. This two-part clitoris, known as a hemiclitoris, is current in a minimum of 9 snake species.

“There’s a lot known about male snake genitalia, but not so much – really anything – known about females,” says Megan Folwell on the University of Adelaide in Australia. Previous analysis was “kind of all over the place about whether the snake clitoris existed”. Wanting to settle the controversy, Folwell and her colleagues started dissecting feminine snake specimens from the University of Michigan’s zoology assortment.

Folwell says it didn’t take a lot looking. “You peel back the skin and it’s right there in front of you,” she says. They discovered hemiclitores in all 9 species they checked out, and all had been situated on the underside of the snake’s tail.

Dissections and micro-CT scans revealed a variety of hemiclitoris sizes and buildings between species. The cantil viper (Agkistrodon bilineatus), a pit viper native to Mexico, has the biggest hemiclitoris of the 9 species, whereas an Australian species, Ingram’s brown snake (Pseudonaja ingrami), has the smallest. Other species they examined included the frequent loss of life adder (Acanthophis antarcticus), Guatemalan milk snake (Lampropeltis abnorma) and carpet python (Morelia spilota). Folwell says she suspects most, if not all, feminine snake species have hemiclitores.

The staff additionally discovered that, like male snakes’ and lizards’ two-part hemipenes, females’ hemiclitores are comprised of delicate nerves and erectile tissue. But not like hemipenes, the females’ hemiclitores lack spines and hooks thought to help in mating.

The work “provides indisputable evidence that [the clitoris] is there, and it’s large, and it’s complex”, says Richard Shine at Macquarie University in Australia who was not concerned within the work. “It’s a great leap forward in our understanding of sexual anatomy in reptiles.”

When it involves finding out animal genitalia, “I think female side of things get a little bit lost,” says Folwell. “But there’s now a brilliant community of scientists looking into female genitalia, which is really exciting stuff.”

Journal reference: Proceedings of the Royal Society B, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1702

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