Giant Squid Penis Discovered. Yes, You Read That Correctly.

A mature O. ingens deep-sea squid

How deep sea squids mate has always been quite the mystery to scientists.

But luckily (using that word loosely) for Dr. Alexander Arkhipkin of the Falkland Islands Government Fisheries Department found a deep sea squid with an erect penis. (Images are from the BBC story.)

Male O. ingens with erect penis and ejaculated spermatophores on table (penis is white tubular structure in lower half of the picture)

The penis was 67 cm long when fully erect; almost equal to the entire length of the animal himself. Good for you buddy.

Apparently, such a long member makes sense for mating in the deep sea, as the shape of the cephalopod would make it difficult to mate successfully otherwise. The details of this study are published this month in the Journal of Molluscan Studies (yes, such a journal exists).

So you will notice I resisted the temptation to make penis jokes for most of this post. Seemed just a bit too easy.

But c’mon, a two foot penis? That deserves to be shared with the world! So I will add for comparison sake that a 1996 study in the Journal of Urology found that the average human erect penis size is about 12.9 cm (~5 inches).

Who would of thought that Molluscan studies could make headlines? Then again, two foot penis…