Darwins peepshow: wat geslachtsdelen onthullen over evolutie, biodiversiteit en onszelf

by Menno Schilthuizen

Al jaren onderzoeken biologen aan de hand van laboratoriumexperimenten, veldwerk en computersimulaties de geslachtsorganen van allerlei organismen: van zeeslakken tot aaskevers, van primaten tot woestijnratten. Vaak is alleen aan de genitaliën te zien om welke soort het precies gaat. Eén vraag houdt de gemoederen al lange tijd bezig, namelijk waarom de penissen en vaak ook hun vrouwelijke equivalenten zo verschillen van soort tot soort?

In de afgelopen twintig jaar hebben onderzoekers ontdekt dat geslachtsdelen, ook die van de mens, een belangrijke rol spelen in de evolutie van de soort. In Darwins peepshow beschrijft Menno Schilthuizen dit revolutionaire werk en de nieuwe perspectieven die dit biedt op de ontwikkeling en het gedrag van soorten.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Biology, Animals, Nature, Evolution, Audiobook

352 pages, Paperback

First published May 22, 2014

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I have learned from this book which was all about sex but sadly (the only sad thing) not hot:

1) One of the prime methods of classifications of animals is by their genitals. There might be a hundred different species of beetles that all look very similar, but their genitals will be very different.

2) I have also learned that research into male parts, partly because it is obviously easier, is extensive, but female bits have had scant scientific attention until recently.

4) Homosexuality in animals might have some evolutionary meaning that we haven't yet discerned. Bonobos, our closest relatives along with chimpanzees, use sex to solve all problems, including when there wasn't a problem really. This includes incest, sex with the young 'uns, and anything else they can think of in as many positions as occurs to them. It's a lot nicer society than that of the extremely aggressive chimps. It's also matriarchal. The girls really like rubbing their parts together and so, unlike all other primates (who don't go in for this, or not to any great degree), their clitorises are more forward, bigger and pointier so it's nice and easy and feels great. There are male adaptions too since the boys have a lot of affection for each other.

And finally, what made me happiest about this book is learning that although we can't say to animals, 'Was it good for you?', we can measure their muscles and brainwaves, and it seems that just about all females do have orgasms!
___________

All the info in spoilers, click the ones that appeal to your prurient scientifically-enquiring mind.

Slugs: the two-blue penis dance Slugs and snails are all hermaphrodite but generally try to avoid inseminating themselves. When two of them meet both of them want to be the man. They like sex a lot! They extrude, over a period of about 10 hours overnight, alien blue penises five times their body length which they intertwine for hours on end. At the very same instant both penis ends turn into scoops and swap spermatophores. Then it's all pulling it back in until the next time. Except in one species where one of them often tries to bite off the other one's penis thereby making him a girl, at least until he grows a new dick! pics!

Gay ducks and necrophilia "At the foot of the glass wall lay a very dead male mallard duck, facedown on the sand. Next to it stood another, very much alive drake in a state of great sexual arousal, which, as Moeliker watched from behind the glass, proceeded to mount his dead companion and start copulating with it with great abandon.

Rather perplexed, Moeliker sat down on a guard’s stool and, always the observant biologist, pulled out his notebook and began recording what he saw. For one and a half hours, the live male continued mounting and dismounting and repeatedly copulating with his dead conspecific. By 7:10 p.m., having covered a full page of notes, Moeliker decided he had had enough of his first observation of homosexual necrophilia."

Double humping, dry and 'wet' The example given was sheet spiders but it isn't confined to them. In most spiders the male ejaculates a drop of sperm and picks it up in his pedipalps and inserts it into the female. However, in sheet spiders, they actually have sex (inserting and removing his pedipalps rapidly), sometimes for up to six hours - with rests. At some point the male dismounts and does his thing with a special tiny web, a droplet of sperm and puts it on his pedipalps ready to insert it and inseminate his 'bride'. But, if she didn't like him enough or he didn't stimulate her in the right way (take that as you want), she just up and leaves whilst he's doing his business! Don't you wish we could do that? All the jollies and no risk of pregnancy (or commitment)!

Orgasms for the girls The prejudice against females (not just human) exhibited by scientists, authors, tv nature broadcasters etc is astounding. It's all research into male apparatus, male sexuality, male orgasms, there is comparatively little study into vaginas and clitorises This is a beautiful wild flower, an amazing blue but there is also a pale violet variety that is common in the tropics. It's botanical name is clitorises">clitorea. .

There are still scientists who absolutely deny that the female orgasm is ubiquitous amongst female mammals, possibly also in the entire animal world, let alone important. (Possibly because It's kind of hard to ask a spider if it was good for her too, but it is scientifically possible to measure physiological responses and brain waves and compare it to human females in mammals).

In a small survey amongst human females set up to corroborate much larger mammalian ones, it was found that the amount of semen retained by females if they orgasmed the same time as or after the male, was much greater than when they didn't come. In that case the 'flow-back' was much greater. In other words, female orgasms promote the passage of sperm to the uterus and therefore the probability of greater fertility. That strikes me as important!

Why pigs need vibrators On farms, when trying to breed pigs the sows aren't at all keen the pipettes used to artificially inseminate them, and her body allows less sperm to enter her womb. So real boars are used for "mood enhancement" and they are then inseminated with a pipette that looks - and feels - just like a boar's penis, sometimes with a special vibrator attachment which keeps the sow happy and allows more sperm into her uterus and that breeds more bacon!

The barnacle has the longest penis in the world. It is eight times longer than it's body and prehensile too. This is because barnacles live their whole lives attached to a rock or the keel of a ship and the only way to get off fertilize the females is by extended the penis which goes out hunting for a mate. "A particularly steamy day in the barnacle colony shows dozens of elongated penises snaking their way among the denizens, probing crevices wherever they can. Sometimes there are so many at the same time that it is impossible to determine who is mating with whom." Well that sounds like fun, kind of makes up for having to be a barnacle.

[Lois Bujold · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful and frequently hilarious tour of research and the results of same in the comparative anatomy of genitalia across the animal kingdom, and its effect on evolution and vice versa. So it hits both science, and the history of science. A 2014 book, so nicely up-to-date. About a third of the page count is notes and bibliography, but the text is completely non-ponderous. Anyone inclined to complain about this or that aspect of human sexual behavior being "unnatural" really needs to read this. The universe, as someone said, is stranger than we can imagine.

It would make a good pairing with the excellent Dr. Tatiana's Sex Advice to All Creation, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... , another biology pop sci classic.

Highly recommended.

Ta, L.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a biologist, you will love this book. Even though I am a biologist there were many, many things I learned from this book that I had never known before, or had forgotten. So little of the fascinating sex lives of animals makes into textbooks. If you are not a biologist, but just enjoy learning new and strange things, you will also like this book. Herein you will learn about spermatophores (basically sperm bombs), the longest penises in the animal world relative to body size (the barnacle holds the record with certain slug species not far behind) and species in which the male uses a hypodermic penis to literally inject sperm into the female's body (bed bugs being a prime example). Although parts of this book may make you blush, you will not be disappointed.

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I actually listened to this on audiobook so I don't know if I can confidently say it's a "quick read" but it struck me as such. Some interesting stuff for a reader with a passing interest in evolution. One mild criticism is that the author, although not American, seems to know a thing or two about American politics and in general he criticized where I would like to see criticism (people freaking out that a study on duck sex is a waste of tax payer dollars; people saying that abortion should be illegal because if a fetus was "really" deformed it would likely be aborted naturally by the body). But he had a whole bit about the way females of various species seem to, consciously or not, accept fertilization from some males and reject from others. This, I thought, would have been a good time to address "legitimate rape" and realities of whether or not the "female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down"; instead, it passed without comment. Wasted opportunity to enlighten people about the truth vs. the reality of the persistent belief that women cannot get pregnant through rape.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very entertaining book filled with fascinating information on sexual selection related primarily to genitalia. The author writes well and has a hearty sense of humor. The book has a strong emphasis on insects and small invertebrates, but the sections on humans, primates, ducks, and squirrels (my favorite) were informative and gave me a sense of how little we know about sex in vertebrates and how assumptions about the simplicity of it all are probably very wrong.

[Pat MacEwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent look at the wild diversity of sex organs across the animal kingdom, which has a lot to say about how evolution works. It also suggests a lot of interesting starting points for building believable aliens who amount to more than a latex appliance glued to a human forehead! Who are truly alien. The author gleefully describes the many ways the shapes and functions of genitalia have been molded by complex Darwinian struggles, producing penises that have developed a daunting set of spines, and others longer than the owner's entire body, or organs given special appendages so they can displace the sperm deposited by rivals (and yes, humans can apparently do something like this too). Then there are the females, where most creatures appear to have full-blown orgasms and many can mate at will but then select or reject semen from their long-gone male suitors. We learn about hypodermic sex, explosive sex, hermaphroditic sex involving penis fencing and "love darts" and even why spiders masturbate into miniature webs. If you're not getting an idea for the basis of a wholly non-Star Trek alien on every third or fourth page, you're not paying attention!

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5
1)I fucking love nature
2)full endiaferon vivlio, ligo parapanw epistimoniko apo to meso vivlio eklaikeumenis epistimis, alla oi gnwseis mou stin viologia voithisan arketa. Ematha apeira pragmata kai o tropos grafis htan poly fun. Wstoso xanei 1.5 asteraki kuriws giati to na diavazeis konta 400 selides analusewn gia gennitika organa kai ekseliktiki viologia kourazei ligo. Diladi, einai to vivlio pou 100% tha ksanadiavaseis apla oxi seri. Tha katafeugeis se kefalaia analoga me to ti thes na freskareis-thymitheis ksana.

[Michael Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why the hell did I pick up this book people ask. Was it for a course? That's the only logical non-sexual deviant reason people seem to come up with. No it wasn't for a course. But I admit I have nebulous reasons for wanting to read the book... apart from the title being sufficiently weird to get my attention. (See the Dictators Handbook and How to Run a Drug Cartel)

But a weird title does not mean a good book. I've learned to not entirely trust foreign born authors trying to write interesting science books. Interesting science books is usually an oxymoron anyhow, but add in English as a second language and any bit of wit and readability tends to go out the window.

So kudos Menno, you succeeded.

There are a pleasing number of double entendres to amuse the 13 year old in me, but also numerous interesting facts about biology. Most of them not for the faint of heart. I can't recommend this book to most people... it's a bit too far on the weird side for anyone who isn't sex-positive or scientifically inclined.

But if you ARE, it's a fun little ride and gives you a number of terribly disturbing facts you can roll out to determine what kind of person you're talking to. Does the idea of a spiny corkscrew duck phallus make someone make a disgusted face? A intrigued face? Or an excited face? Do they ask you not to tell you anything else? Are they inquisitive? Do they look deep into your eyes and say 'Tell me more...'? I'm not here to judge, but it's an interesting litmus test.

Also ignoring that bit its an interesting add on to the theory of evolution. Most people just talk about the survival bit and ignore the fact that just because you survive doesn't mean you get to spread your genes on if you're not interesting to the opposite sex.

Anyway, if you're still interested, I recommend it. If not? Eh, go read about Kinsey or something.

[Charlene · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book. Animal behavior is fascinating and animal sexual behavior is extremely so. I really enjoyed Chris Ryan's Sex at Dawn and was hoping for an education about the sexual practices of animals that was as satisfying as Ryan's book. Over the years I have learned about different aspects of animal sex, such as arms races that result in fly penises that have jagged edges and stick in the female, sperm competition in various animals, female baboons who trick the alpha male into sleeping so the female can mate with her choice of male, bower birds building elaborate structures to attract a one night stand, and so on. I have loved every one of these stories; and so, I was sure I would love this book. I hated it.

The author provided a lot of interesting information but it was certainly not worth the elitist bullshit I had to wade through in order to make it to the next good bit of information. This book, written in 2014, was firmly attached to the outdated good genes/sexy son theories that have been well argued against by progressives. The evolutionary psych mobojumbo simply has not held up. Instead of relying of the evidence, the neo-Darwinsts, of which this author is certainly one, share tactics with Richard Dawkins and align themselves with the old guard and set about insulting anyone who doesn't understand evolution in the "right way." I use quotes because this pompous author, like Richard Dawkins before him, actually used these words. I have zero patients for that.

To make matters worse, I listened to the audio version of this book. It is clear they attempted to hire the most elite, "good genes," old-guard, rich white male with good diction that they could find. Ruined the book.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the evolution of genitals and the unanswered questions of sexual selection in general.

I thought that this was a great book for a number of reasons:
~The author's writing style is really entertaining. He makes a lot of references and uses colloquial terms that are familiar to the reader and even sticks in some funny turn of phrases.

~The book has a lot of novel information. The co-evolution of genitalia in the fight for dominance over reproduction is quite entertaining and the 'tricks' and strategies animals use to get the upper hand is surprising at times. I certainly learned a lot.

~Schilthuizen has a lot of drawings to elucidate his writing on specific mating strategies and the odd array of shapes of various genitalia and reproductive tracts of organisms.

I hope for the author's sake that the title of the book doesn't keep the more modest readers from learning about this fascinating topic which is broader than just sex organs. (I do love the cover photo).

I have no real complaints about the book. I suppose sometimes it was difficult to read about the crueler or grosser aspects of nature and the creepy crawlies that dominate our biosphere in many ways. But despite the occasional discomfort in reading the material, if you have an interest in evolution, biology, or ecology it would be a mistake to pass up this book.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book really quite fascinating. It was both informative, educating, and hilarious. The author realized that while the study of animal sex parts is useful and important science, it's also really rather funny. One of my favorite lines was in relation to those who suffer from hayfever: "few sufferers realize that they are reacting to clouds of birch ejaculate."
On the educating side of the book, it was really quite fascinating to learn about the wide variety of tactics used by different species to do that thing we all do. The recurring theme of the interplay between the female and male tactics was really interesting.
Overall, a very interesting read and very clearly written.

[Lizzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confession: This is the third book I've read about animal sex. What is interesting about this book is that it focuses on genitalia specifically, not an all encompassing book about behavior, etc. It was fascinating to learn about how sexual selection is different from natural selection. Finally, his explanation about why there are male and female sexes in the first place blew my mind. This book was a definite nerdgasm.

[Kyla Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great, interesting, and witty read. Highly recommended, but as with all biological research, be prepared for animal experiments/dissections/etc. -- there's no other way to get some of this information, but that doesn't mean I have to like it, or like that it happened.

[Lyndsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is solidly in the “what did I just read” category. It’s funny and informative. I learned so much more about penises that I ever thought possible.

[Moloch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Il titolo italiano è un po' stupido (anche perché mi pare che neanche si parli delle coccinelle), era più simpatico, e tutto sommato anche più preciso, l'originale (Nature's Nether Regions, "le parti bassi della Natura"): sì, argomento del saggio è la forma dei genitali di varie specie animali, e sarebbe inutile negare che l'ho preso (dopo averne letto una recensione di Telmo Pievani sulle pagine de "La Lettura" dell'8 giugno 2014: se siete interessanti a un parere più autorevole e probabilmente più interessante del mio sul libro, ecco il link) principalmente perché prometteva di essere bizzarro e divertente.

A parte la sorprendente varietà di forme, colorazioni, lunghezze, usi, eccetera eccetera eccetera, che cosa rimane più impresso da questo "peepshow darwiniano", come lo definisce l'autore? Beh, che la femmina è molto (molto!) meno "passiva" di quanto comunemente pensiamo, non si limita a "ricevere" semplicemente lo sperma dal maschio e inoltre la vagina (quantunque in genere meno studiata del pene) riserva qualche sorpresa inaspettata: intanto, le preferenze della femmina influenzano fortemente l'evoluzione non solo dei caratteri sessuali secondari del maschio, ma anche di quelli primari (i genitali in senso stretto). La "preferenza" di cui si parla non è, ovviamente, un capriccio fine a se stesso né spesso viene effettuata a livello conscio: maschi meglio dotati, più "bravi" nel corteggiamento o nell'atto sessuale ecc. trasmetteranno, forse, queste caratteristiche ai loro figli col loro patrimonio genetico, e i loro figli avranno dunque più probabilità di successo con le femmine, assicurandosi una più copiosa discendenza. Sintetizzando al massimo con una formula usata dall'autore stesso, si può dire che in natura il maschio badi più alla quantità (passare il proprio patrimonio genetico al maggior numero di femmine), la femmina alla qualità (più selettività nella scelta del partner). Ma il ruolo della femmina non si esaurisce nemmeno nello scegliere il maschio più adatto e poi accettare passivamente il suo sperma: in molte specie la femmina si riserva di "valutarlo", non farlo neppure avvicinare alla vagina, "conservarlo", utilizzarlo in un secondo momento o rigettarlo del tutto per far spazio a quello di successivi candidati ritenuti più validi; insomma, la gamma di comportamenti e "misure di precauzione" successive è assai variegata e, se ciò non vuol dire che sia la femmina a "controllare il gioco" (si tratta più di una "competizione" in cui maschio e femmina cercano costantemente di... "fregarsi" a vicenda, perché agli "ostacoli" posti dalla femmina corrisponderanno, col tempo, "trucchi" più raffinati ed efficaci da parte del maschio... anche se neppure di "competizione" vera e propria si dovrebbe parlare), mostra come l'atto sessuale sia in fin dei conti la parte più "semplice" della faccenda.

Inevitabile, in un libro di divulgazione su questo argomento, che si cerchi talvolta la battuta: se fosse successo a ogni riga l'avrei detestato, ma l'autore, per fortuna, si limita: in alcuni punti riesce anche divertente, e dove invece la battuta non era necessaria tutto sommato non dà fastidio più di tanto.

Come detto all'inizio, sono solo le impressioni molto alla buona di una profana assoluta di biologia/zoologia, però curiosa. Un libro interessante e gradevole, che è un po' penalizzato dalla scarsezza delle immagini (e quelle presenti non sono chiarissime) e dall'assenza totale di fotografie.

3/5

https://moloch981.wordpress.com/2015/...

[remazera · Rating 5 out of 5]

-Audiobook version-
Book content + narrator: 4.5-5 stars

I am giving this book a 4.5-5 because I loved it. This is probably because it is my first real biological book read, and the amount of information is a lot and lots of new information flooded my brain and each time being awestruck. I have overlooked some of the things goodreads readers have mentioned in their reviews as I am probably not so familiar to the biology field books.. but one thing I was certainly uneasy about when he did not discuss rape further in the female case ... and stopped and just moved on with the other chapter. I’d like to get my hands on a softcover copy to revise all the names/situation/experiments mentioned as I don’t think I got the full picture from the audiobook.

It also gave me a new perspective of real appreciation and gratitude toward small and large of all kind of animals with their complex sex lives, especially insects.

I also really liked the narrator, for me he was quite engaging.

[Alexander Theofanidis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Μια εξαιρετικά εμβριθής (τουλάχιστον για τα δικά μου δεδομένα) μελέτη πάνω στη σεξουαλική λειτουργία όπως την έχει διαμορφώσει η εξέλιξη, με έμφαση στα πιο "περίεργα" δείγματά της πάνω στον πλανήτη. Σεξουαλικές πρακτικές και διαμορφώσεις γεννητικών οργά��ων που αφήνουν άφωνο τον αναγνώστη, όλα προϊόντα εξέλιξης, στην ανέαη, μη συνειδητή, μάχη των δύο φύλων να "ελέγξουν" τη διαδικασία της αναπαραγωγής.
Γιατί τρία αστεράκια; Γιατί πόσο να αντέξεις περιγραφές αδοιαγών (πέος στα... επιστημονικά) και κόλπων κολεόπτερων, καθαρίδων, σαλιγκαριών και θυσσανωτών; Γι' αυτό.
Πάντως είναι γραμμένο με τρομερό κέφι (και πώς θα μπορούσε άλλωστε, δεδομένου ότι μιλάει για το από καταβολής πιο δημοφιλές θέμα του κόσμου), αρκετή δόση χιούμορ και έχει και επεξηγηματικά σκίτσα. Ίσως είναι η πρώτη φορά που ένα επιστημονικό βιβλίο είχε περισσότερο σεξ απ' όσο μπορούσα να "σηκώσω"...

[Julianna Crisanti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first serious non-fiction and I honestly couldn't have picked a better book! This well-thought out, perfectly organized, and comedic work dives in to the strange new faction of evolutionary biology that focuses on the evolution of genitalia. With jaw-dropping examples and extremely interesting allusions to other scientists' research, Menno Schiltuizen paints an immense, colorful picture of the strange and wonderful world we live in, and easily brings science into the reader's hands with accessibilty and understanding!

[Vib Pande · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging read, deriving from diverse sources, demystifying (to some length) the biological processes - of natural and sexual selection, esp the latter. Though "sex sells" is an adage that runs true, our general enlightenment on this is superficial, as a read of this book proves. The author dedicates a lot into the tiny details, which is great. The language - aimed to describe and conjecture the mating behaviors and organs of diverse lifeforms - leads to novel and bizzare phrases at times.
The way the book progresses, however, could be improved.

[Juliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of crazy stuff on this planet, folks.
I will never eat a squid again.
Now I know why spiders are usually in a hurry during a certain time of year.
My only complaint is that it would have been nice to have some color plates added to this book.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating, but probably more than I really wanted to know about invertebrate sex. (The parts on birds and primates are interesting, too).

[Daniel Farabaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read as nature presents an amazing array of fascinating reproductive strategies. At times it gets a bit technical but overall it is an great read.

[Theut · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dopo aver letto una piacevole recensione di questo saggio ne avevo completamente dimenticato l'esistenza (non prima di averlo acquistato e perso in qualche meandro di casa). Complice una recensione su Greads e il rinvenimento dello stesso... ecco venuto il suo turno!

Da persona totalmente digiuna dell'argomento ho apprezzato il linguaggio divulgativo dell'autore che è riuscito a rendere sempre interessante l'argomento, anche quando i temi si ripetevano un po'. Peccato per la mancanza di foto/disegni, sarebbero stati un utile corollario.
Due i key takeaways: a) la femmina nell'atto è meno passiva di quanto l'esteriorità non faccia pensare; b) le sue preferenze (in termine di scelta del partner con il corredo genetico migliore per garantire una discendenza forte) hanno influenzato lo sviluppo dei caratteri sessuali secondari e primari (!) del maschio.
Infine, le battute/giochi di parole (che temevo infarcissero il volume) sono contenuti e spesso spiritosi :P

... ecco, non guarderò più gli insetti con gli stessi occhi :O

[Lyu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! It was so interesting and funny to read this book (sometimes a bit macabre) but I literally devoured it since the first page. MAybe it's been the best Valentine's day gift I've ever received. Thanks to my wonderful husband who knows I'm always so curious about animals world...
I hope to read more by Menno Schilthuizen

[Jeffrey E · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great balance between stuff a researcher would find interesting and things a nature lover would find fascinating.

[Belinda Jonak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent smorgasbord of reproductive biology informational anecdotes. Loved the sly humor and titillating word play. Great resource for Ze Frank's True Facts & Green Porno videos.

[Anthi Mastrogiannaki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Η αναπαραγωγή των οργανισμών του πλανήτη μας θεωρείται το φλέγον ζήτημα για την μάχη των θηλυκών και των αρσενικών ατόμων. Ο Κάρολος Δαρβίνος με το 2ο βιβλίο του σχετικά με την καταγωγή του φύλου και των σεξουαλικών οργάνων ήταν από τους επιστήμονες εκείνους που μελέτησε σε βάθος την σχέση των γεννητικών οργάνων των διαφόρων οργανισμών με την αναπαραγωγή τους. Έτσι λοιπόν σε αυτό το βιβλίο, ο ολλανδός εξελικτικός βιολόγος και οικολόγος, ο Menno Schilthuizen, ο οποίος δραστηριοποιείται στο Κέντρο Βιοποικιλότητας Naturalis στο Leiden της Ολλανδίας με τίτλο "Γενετήσια Παιχνίδια" εισχωρεί βαθύτερα στους νόμους της αναπαραγωγής και πως τα γεννητικά όργανα των ζώων επιδρούν στις ιδιοτροπίες της εξέλιξης. Από φαινόμενα όπως η εκσπερμάτωση του καλαμαριού, ο διαχωρισμός ανάμεσα στα πρωτεύοντα και στα δευτερεύοντα σεξουαλικά αναπαραγωγικά όργανα, ο τρόπος που κάποιοι οργανισμοί δεν γονιμοποιούν το θηλυκό με το πέος αλλά με κάποιο άλλο οργανίδιο και η θεωρία του "κλειδιού και της κλειδαριάς" ότι δηλαδή κάθε αρσενικό όργανο που γονιμοποιεί ενώνεται με ένα μόνο θηλυκό αναπαραγωγικό όργανο με το οποίο ταιριάζει απόλυτα είναι κάποια από τα θέματα που θίγει ο συγγραφέας στο βιβλίο αυτό.
Το βιβλίο αυτό αποτελεί επιστημονικό σύγγραμμα εκλαικευμένης επιστήμης. Τα γεννητικά όργανα των ζώων αλλά και του ανθρώπου παίζουν σημαντικό ρόλο στην αναπαραγωγή και την εξέλιξη των οργανισμών. Ο παραπάνω λοιπόν είναι και ο λόγος που αποφάσισα να γράψω την αποψή μου για το βιβλίο. Είναι πράγματι θαυμάσιο ότι οι οργανισμοί γύρω μας φέρουν μοναδικά αναπαραγωγικά όργανα όπως ακανθωτά πέη, σπερματοφόρους, βλέννα κ.τ.λ. Αν και κάποια είδη διαφέρουν στο αναπαραγωγικό σύστημα εντούτοις παρουσιάζουν και σχετικότητες μεταξύ τους. Το βιβλίο παρουσιάζει δυσκολία στην αφομοίωση αφού περιλαμβάνει όρους Βιολογίας δύσκολους όσον αφορά τα γεννητικά όργανα των οργανισμών. Νομίζω ότι για να καταφέρει ένας αναγνώστης να το διαβάσει πρέπει να είναι σχετικός με την Εντομολογία και την Εξελικτική Βιολογία.
Παρολαυτά είναι αρκετά ενδιαφέρον βιβλίο. Αν κάποιοι από εσάς ασχολείστε με επιστήμες όπως η Βιολογία, η Γεωπονία και η Εντομολογία σας συστήνω να διαβάσετε το βιβλίο αυτό.

[Kim Staley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even if you don't generally like science, then start reading out of prurient interest and you'll keep reading because evolution is jaw-droppingly amazing!

[Costin Manda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess when your main work concerns the sex organs of animals, you have to own a healthy sense of humor. That is why, even if I wasn't terribly interested in the subject, I continued to read the book mostly because of Menno Schilthuizen's writing style. This book - full title Nature's Nether Regions: What the Sex Lives of Bugs, Birds, and Beasts Tell Us About Evolution, Biodiversity, and Ourselves - kept being funny and captivating, despite being about a niche subject treated in a very scientific way.

But having read it, I don't regret a thing. There are a lot of interesting insights to be drawn from the book, things I wouldn't have probably thought about for myself. The focus is on sexual organs - mostly in invertebrates, but not only - an area that is both fascinating and rarely explored in a rigorous fashion. Why are they so important? Because in almost every species they are changing from generation to generation faster than anything else. Many species that basically look the same, having evolved in the same particular niche and maybe even from common ancestors, have wildly different genitalia and strategies for impregnation, an intriguing fact that leads Schilthuizen to explore the theory of sexual evolution, in other words changes determined by the choice of partners. You know, like the Pompadour hair style...

Forget human sex, or even mammalian sex. It's spiders, insects, worms and snails that will amaze you with the weird and kinky adaptations in their romantic lives: females that store the sperm of various pretenders and only use the one from the guy they liked most, spoon like penises used to scoop out the sperm of rivals before climax (humans have this, too, BTW), complicated female organs and mechanisms meant to thwart male attempts at forceful insemination and males who choose to stab their mates and short circuit the whole thing. Oh, and did you know snails are hermaphrodites? How does that work?

Bottom line: a very well written little book that may surprise you both through how entertaining and interesting it is. No, a penis is not just a syringe and a vagina not only a hole that accepts anything you put in it. In this book you will learn why, how sexual organs evolved and, indeed, continue to evolve faster than any other organ in most species.

[Cory · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic journey into the fascinating world of animal reproduction and the unique, often bizarre structures and functions, mating behaviours, and physiological adaptations that exist. The author covers the full breadth of the Animalia, from the smallest invertebrates to humans, presenting some ground breaking, often controversial research and interpretation of the results. The writing is in a non-technical (when ever possible) format that is enjoyable to read, and in many places, very funny. The range of interesting and important discoveries in animal reproduction presented is wide, and the author provides great summaries of some of the "seminal" (his joke) studies in the field, and the scientists that made them. Not a dull moment, and highly recommended!