Western gorilla
Gorilla gorilla
7 cm
Dissected penis of one preserved gorilla, from the glans to where the corpora cavernosa diverge (Duvernoy 1855); age not stated
Has a bone
No sample of erect gorilla penises has ever been measured. The '3 cm' that keeps being repeated is an unreferenced estimate, and the one dissected specimen we know of measured about 7 cm.
Margin note: Further volunteers have not come forward.
Sources
- Short R.V. (1981) Sexual selection in man and the great apes. In: Graham C.E. (ed.) Reproductive Biology of the Great Apes: Comparative and Biomedical Perspectives. Academic Press, New York, Ch. 13, pp. 319-341 doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-295020-9.50019-4
- Duvernoy G.L. (1855-1856) Des caractères anatomiques des grands singes pseudo-anthropomorphes. Archives du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle (Paris) 8:1-248, pls I-XVI (penis pp. 208-210, 227; Pl. XVI figs V-VII) link
- Mittermeier R.A., Rylands A.B., Wilson D.E. (eds) (2013) Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Vol. 3, Primates. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. Family Hominidae, pp. 792-854 (Gorilla gorilla account pp. 848-849) link
- Owen R. (1865) Contributions to the natural history of the anthropoid apes. No. VIII. On the external characters of the gorilla (Troglodytes gorilla, Sav.). Transactions of the Zoological Society of London 5:243-284, pls XLIII-XLVII link
- Dixson A.F. (1998) Primate Sexuality: Comparative Studies of the Prosimians, Monkeys, Apes, and Human Beings. Oxford University Press link
Drawn from
- Duvernoy 1855-56, Archives du Muséum 8, Pl. XVI figs V-VII: Dissected adult gorilla penis: fig. V dorsal view of glans and conical shaft; fig. VI lateral profile of the glans and the black-skinned distal shaft; fig. VII glans end-on showing two lobes either side of the vertical urethral slit
- Duvernoy 1855-56, Pl. XVI (whole plate) and caption: Context: 'F. V. VI. VII. Verge du gorille'
- Owen 1865, Trans. Zool. Soc. 5, Pl. XLVI fig. 2: Preserved adult male lying supine; small subconical flaccid penis visible in the pubic hair (crop: refs/owen1865_plXLVI_fig2_crop.png)
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