Professor Menno Schilthuizen

Professor Menno Schilthuizen from Naturalis Biodiversity Center and Leiden University talking about everyone's favourite topic - genitals.

What’s the easiest way to tell species apart? Check their genitals. Scientists are now beginning to understand that the wild diversity of sex organs across species can tell us a lot about evolution.

Menno invites his audience 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.