Rethinking Barnacle Reproduction

摘要

Scientists continue to marvel at the length of the barnacle's penis-up to eight times its body length in some species. That endowment has long been thought to explain how the immobile creatures manage to reproduce (barring a few self-fertilizing species). But a study published this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B suggests that at least one species, Pollicipes polymerus, has a different approach-possibly a compensation for its relatively short penis. P.