Not from the Onion....

[GMDino]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/02/160201-arachnids-harvestman-penis-amber-fossil-animals-science/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_content=link_fb20160202news-spiderfossil&utm_campaign=Content&sf20196370=1

Fossil Daddy Longlegs Sports a 99-Million-Year Erection

Quote:On a tree in what's now Burma some 99 million years ago, a cousin of today's daddy longlegs had the best and worst day of his life.

After a months-long puberty, the male harvestman Halitherses grimaldiihad finally blossomed into full manhood, sporting a penis that grew to nearly half of his body length when erect.

We know about this H. grimaldii's particular package because, as announced last Thursday in The Science of Nature, he died fully aroused, his tree-side tryst interrupted by oozing resin that entombed his body in what's now a lump of amber.
"It must have been in an amorous state to have it out like this," says Ron Clouse of the American Museum of Natural History, who wasn't involved with the study. "This poor animal."

Unlike male spiders and scorpions, which use modified legs to transfer sperm to females in tidy packets, most harvestmen like H. grimaldii have honest-to-goodness penises, which they insert into genital openings next to the females' mouthparts. (Learn more about harvestmen.)

The newly described fossil is the first to capture such a penis in amber—and is among the best preserved ever found, scientists say.


Longtime Members


These well-endowed arachnids have been around a long time, nibbling on scraps and rummaging through leaf litter for more than 400 million years. (See "7 Bug and Spider Myths Squashed.")


The arachnids' long track record excites scientists, since understanding the harvestman family tree could give insight into how other life-forms spread across ancient Earth's shifting landmasses.