A hilarious yet graphic photo of an echidna’s penis has shocked the internet after randomly popping up in their news feed.
The photo was uploaded by Australian Geographic asking readers if they had ever seen an echidna’s penis before.
The photo in question shows a four-tipped penis with scientists looking into why the mammal’s reproductive system is the way it is.
“Have you ever seen an echidna’s penis?” the post read.
“You’ve probably asked your friends this in jest, but scientists are working away at unlocking the mystery of the bizarre, four-tipped reproductive system.
“Labelled one of the ‘weirdest penises of the animal kingdom’, it’s bright red and has four heads.
“Now there’s a dinner conversation starter…”
The internet’s reaction was lighthearted, with many in the comment section leaving funny remarks.
“Such prickly little buggers obviously they need all the help they can get,” someone joked.
“Australian GeoGRAPHIC,” the best comment read.
“I’m guessing it’s for Russian roulette impregnation,” another commented.
“I cannot unsee this. Scarred for life,” someone else joked.
“Wears condoms. They fit like a glove,” another comment read.
“If I were a female echidna, I’d shuffle away as fast as I could from this thing and if I couldn’t out shuffle it, I’d bury myself as quickly as possible,” someone wrote.
Despite the funny comments, Australian Geographic linked back to a research article about why echidna penises are weird.
”We’re not really sure why it looks so weird but we do know that they only use their penis for mating, not urine,” reproductive biologist Jane Fenelon said.
“Because they don’t need it for urine, they had the freedom to make it much more elaborate and this is something you see in other species that only use it for mating.”
Images: Australian Geographic
This article first appeared on OverSixty.