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News From the Field

'War Between the Sexes:' The Co-evolution of Genitalia in Waterfowl


April 30, 2007

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A team of biologists at Yale University and the University of Sheffield discovered anatomical details about the female reproductive tract in waterfowl that indicate that male and female anatomy have co-evolved in a "sexual arms race." While the anatomy of the female is usually very simple and similar among birds, they found two unexpectedly complex and novel structures that seem designed for one purpose--to selectively exclude the male phallus. Full Story

Source
Yale University

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