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The mammalian pseudo-penis appears to be simply for display, though the spotted hyena is an exception: the female spotted hyena urinates, copulates, and gives birth through her pseudo-penis. This prevents males from mating without the full co-operation of females, which means that mating preferences of the female are predominant.
Sexual mimicry can play a role in the development of a species' social system. Perhaps the most extreme example of this can be seen in the spotted hyena, Crocuta crocuta. [1] Female hyenas of all ages possess pseudomasculinized genitalia, including a pseudopenis formed from the clitoris, and a false scrotum formed from the labia.
Female spotted hyenas have a clitoris 90 percent as long and the same diameter as a male penis (171 millimetres long and 22 millimetres in diameter), [13] and this pseudo-penis' formation seems largely androgen-independent because it appears in the female fetus before differentiation of the fetal ovary and adrenal gland. [24]
The spotted hyena is the largest extant member of the Hyaenidae, and is further physically distinguished from other species by its vaguely bear-like build, [5] rounded ears, [6] less prominent mane, spotted pelt, [7] more dual-purposed dentition, [8] fewer nipples, [9] and pseudo-penis.
Males in most hyena species are larger than females, [34] though the spotted hyena is an exception, as it is the female of the species that outweighs and dominates the male. Also, unlike other hyenas, the female spotted hyena's external genitalia closely resembles that of the male.
The bulk of the NatGeo episode follows a pack of hyenas and a pride of lions, both with female leaders. The story of the hyenas is one of a transfer of power from one matriarch to another ...
Female spotted hyenas have a clitoris 90 percent as long and the same diameter as a male penis (171 millimetres long and 22 millimetres in diameter), [208] and this pseudo-penis' formation seems largely androgen-independent because it appears in the female fetus before differentiation of the fetal ovary and adrenal gland. [206]
The pseudo-penis and pseudo-scrotum, which are actually a masculinized vulva, closely resemble the male hyena's genitalia, but can be distinguished from the male by the female's greater thickness and more rounded glans. [24] Domestic cats have barbed penises, with about 120–150 one millimetre long backwards-pointing spines. [25]