Natures Nether Regions, Menno Schithuizen
Natures Nether Regions, Menno Schithuizen
List: $29.98 | Sale: $20.99
Club: $14.99

Nature's Nether Regions
What the Sex Lives of Bugs, Birds, and Beasts Tell Us About Evolution, Biodiversity, and Ourselves

Author: Menno Schithuizen

Narrator: Steven Menasche

Unabridged: 7 hr 51 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 06/01/2014


Synopsis

The story of evolution as you’ve never heard it before

What’s the easiest way to tell species apart? Check their genitals. Researching private parts was long considered taboo, but scientists are now beginning to understand that the wild diversity of sex organs across species can tell us a lot about evolution.

Menno Schilthuizen invites readers to join him as he uncovers the ways the shapes and functions of genitalia have been molded by complex Darwinian struggles: penises that have lost their spines but evolved appendages to displace sperm; female orgasms that select or reject semen from males, in turn subtly modifying the females’ genital shape. We learn why spiders masturbate into miniature webs, discover she dungflies that store sperm from attractive males in their bellies, and see how, when it comes to outlandish appendages and bizarre behaviors, humans are downright boring.

Nature’s Nether Regions joyfully demonstrates that the more we learn about the multiform private parts of animals, the more we understand our own unique place in the great diversity of life.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Lois on February 20, 2016

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......more

Goodreads review by Bryan on February 01, 2016

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 lear......more

Goodreads review by Tiffany on November 09, 2014

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 A......more

Goodreads review by Brian on June 10, 2014

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 fav......more

Goodreads review by Pat on January 17, 2019

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 a......more