Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 August 2023 | 15(8): 23817–23818
ISSN 0974-7907
(Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8370.15.8.23817-23818
#8370 | Received 15
January 2023 | Final received 08 August 2023 | Finally accepted 09 August 2023
Auto-fellatio behaviour
observed in the Indian Palm Squirrel Funambulus
palmarum (Linnaeus, 1766)
Anbazhagan Abinesh
1, C.S. Vishnu 2 & Chinnasamy
Ramesh 3
1 Department of Zoology, Bharathiar University, Maruthamalai
Road, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641012, India.
1,2,3 Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001, India.
1 wildvoyager1996@gmail.com , 2 vishnusreedharannair@gmail.com,
3 ramesh.czoo@gmail.com (corresponding author)
Editor: P.O. Nameer,
Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, India. Date of publication: 26 August 2023 (online &
print)
Citation: Abinesh, A., C.S. Vishnu & C. Ramesh (2023). Auto-fellatio
behaviour observed in the Indian Palm Squirrel Funambulus
palmarum (Linnaeus, 1766). Journal of Threatened Taxa 15(8):
23817–23818. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8370.15.8.23817-23818
Copyright: © Abinesh et al. 2023. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: F.No: EMR/2016/003963, Science and Engineering Research Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: This note is an outcome of a
research grant by DST-SERB- (EMR/2016/003963). We acknowledge Mr. Vedagiri Thirumurugan for his
moral support during the research. We thank the director, registrar, and dean
of the Wildlife Institute of India for the inspiration.
Masturbation is an auto-sexual behaviour, a widespread phylogenetic trait in many taxa,
including non-mammalian species (Roth et al. 2022). Non-reproductive sexual behaviours are observed in birds, Bonobos, sheep, goats,
cats, Cape Squirrels, Spotted Hyenas, and many other animals (Bagemihl 1999; Schwartz 1999; Waterman 2010; Balcombe
2011). Waterman (2010) reported that males under intense sperm competition
might manipulate sperm quantity and quality through masturbation, which could
waste sperm and decrease fertility. Masturbation is found to be a reason for
lacking sexual opportunity or fulfilling sexual desire. Masturbation, however,
was initially thought to be non-adaptive, but later researchers pointed out to
be adaptive (Thomsen et al. 2003). Sperm flushing through masturbation is
adaptive to increase the chance of having fertile sperm to have reproductive
success (Baker & Bellis 1993; Bellis 1995). Masturbation is a self-directed
action; the vertebrates use their hands directly and sometimes mouth by the
suggestive term auto-fellatio (Waterman 2010). Extending to body parts, monkeys
have been known to masturbate using stones as a part of tool use based on
physiological responses (Cenni et al. 2022).
The Indian Palm Squirrel Funambulus palmarum
is a rodent under the family Sciuridae and is
widespread in the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka (Nowak 1999). They are
known to breed throughout the year (Prasad 1951). Rodents perhaps exhibit
masturbation behaviour; one such incident has been
reported in the African Ground Squirrel Xerus
inauris (Waterman 2010). This study presents an
observation of auto-fellatio behaviour in an adult
male Indian Palm Squirrel.
On 14 December 2018, an Indian
Palm Squirrel was found on a Neem Tree Azadirachta
indica during the evening hours in an agriculture
field at Bhavanisagar, Tamil Nadu, India (11.47830N,
77.12730E). The squirrel’s activity was observed to express an
auto-fellatio behaviour (Image 1). The observation
began with the male squirrel stimulating its genital organ using both hands for
approximately six seconds.
The activity continued till the
penis got appropriately erected. The squirrel held its penis by its forelimbs
and was sucked by its mouth forward and back continuously. Subsequently, the
sperm ejaculated at the end of the 26th second, and thereby we concluded it as
masturbation. The action was performed with its whole mouth for 26 seconds,
confirming the activity as an auto-fellatio behaviour
and not a penis-cleansing behaviour. The male
squirrel was found alone without any other individuals near for about a 10-m
radius from the animal.
The auto-fellatio behaviour in animals has been attributed to various hypotheses,
including relaxation and aggression reduction (Thomsen & Sommer 2015),
serving as a sexual outlet, potential enhancement of sperm quality, energy
reallocation, sexual display, rivalry demonstration, and even reduction of the
risk of sexually transmitted infections (Waterman 2010). Considering that
Indian Palm Squirrels are known to breed throughout the year, any of these
hypotheses could potentially explain the occurrence of auto-fellatio behaviour in this species.
This observation calls for
further research to comprehensively investigate the variety of factors
contributing to non-breeding behaviours in Indian
Palm Squirrels. The auto-fellatio behaviour observed
in F. palmarum is novel and represents the
first recorded instance to the best of our knowledge. Additional studies are
needed to delve deeper into the motivations and implications of this behaviour, shedding more light on its significance within
the context of squirrel biology and behaviour.
For
images - - click here for full PDF
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