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Men who shout the loudest have smaller testicles - in the monkey world at least


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Posted
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But the males who hit the highest decibels are actually those with the smallest testicles.

The primates are one of the loudest animals on the planet thanks to their evolutionary biology.

For the males, a key function of their roar is to attract females and scare off rivals.

But not all male howler monkeys have been equally endowed, as new research has revealed an evolutionary trade-off between the hyoid - the arched throat bone that allows the roar to resonate - and the testes.

The deeper and louder the roar, the smaller a monkey's testicles and the less sperm they produce.

Researchers from Cambridge University found that the trade-off also corresponded to how the different species of howlers lived in their communities.

Males with large hyoids and deeper roars, but small testicles, live in small social groups and are the only male in a group of females.

 

PAY-Howling-monkeys.jpg

 

Males with smaller hyoids and bigger testes live in bigger groups with up to six males.

Females in these groups mate with all the males in the group.

This means that there is more competition for males, so they have evolved to produce more sperm than their counterparts who have free reign over a group of females.

The findings, published in the Current Biology journal, have been suggested as an example of Charles Darwin's theory of sexual selection.

Lecturer Dr Jacob Dunn, from the university's Division of Biological Anthropology said: "In evolutionary terms, all males strive to have as many offspring as they can, but when it comes to reproduction you can't have everything.

"There is evidence in other animals that when males invest in large bodies, bright colours, or weaponry such as horns or long canines, they are unable to also invest in reproductive traits.

"However, this is the first evidence in any species for a trade-off between vocal investment and sperm production."

Trade-offs in biology likely exist when one trait cannot increase without a decrease in another.

 


 

 

 

i already shortlisted 3 or 4 posters  who  got smallish balls :rotfl:

science :giggle:

 

 

http://nextshark.com/howler-monkey-testicles-study/

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/men-who-shout-loudest-smaller-6682944

 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/men-who-shout-loudest-smaller-6682944http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/men-who-shout-loudest-smaller-6682944

Posted
1 minute ago, fineleg said:

@The Outsider Are you watching Ind NZ shwetabh?

Just the highlights or an hour or so on weekends. Designer pitches are okay once in a series, but no point watching test cricket on pitches where  the odds are so heavily stacked against the touring team except when we are the tourists.

Posted
4 hours ago, The Outsider said:

Just the highlights or an hour or so on weekends. Designer pitches are okay once in a series, but no point watching test cricket on pitches where  the odds are so heavily stacked against the touring team except when we are the tourists.

When did Indian pitches supported touring teams?

Posted
13 minutes ago, rkt.india said:

When did Indian pitches supported touring teams?

Never, but also didn't favor home team as much as they've been doing the last couple of seasons. I agree it's also a paucity of talent in the world to cope with such pitches, but we've been producing raging turners consistently. A first day pitch with cracks isn't good test cricket.

Posted

Thread relevant for the lizard... 30000 posts is no small matter. :giggle:

It is said in the online world, those who post the most have the smallest organ

Sent from my Wileyfox Swift using Tapatalk

Posted
6 minutes ago, G_B_ said:

 

 

It is said in the online world, those who post the most have the smallest organ

 

Sent from my Wileyfox Swift using Tapatalk

I must have grown a really big one since I stopped being an online regular 2+ years back. 

 

Do do you have an inchi tape so I can confirm?

Posted
I must have grown a really big one since I stopped being an online regular 2+ years back. 

 

Do do you have an inchi tape so I can confirm?

Tmi...

Sent from my Wileyfox Swift using Tapatalk

Posted
Never, but also didn't favor home team as much as they've been doing the last couple of seasons. I agree it's also a paucity of talent in the world to cope with such pitches, but we've been producing raging turners consistently. A first day pitch with cracks isn't good test cricket.

These pitches are far better than some flat tracks which made toss a huge factor.Fact is Batting against spin has become poor.Any touring side with good spinners can easily challenge India as Indian batsman also have been struggling against spin.

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