Japanese quail: The bird with weird sperm foam, a post-sex strut and a spot in space history
Rapid facts
Name: Japanese quail (Coturnix Japanica))
Where he lives: Steppes and meadows in Asia, notably China, India, Japan, Korea and Russia. It is also found in Africa and in certain parts of Europe. Some populations are migratory.
What he eats: Grass seeds, as well as small insects and other invertebrates.
Japanese quail is little parents of chickens and turkeys with a very unusual line – males produce a unique seminal foam that looks like meringue.
The foam is unusual among birds but turkey produce a similar substance.
The Japanese quail was raised in captivity from the 11th century and were initially preserved for their melodic songs. But they were then used for their meat and eggs.
The tiny birds, which weigh between 3.5 and 10.5 ounces (100 and 300 grams), reach the sexual maturity of about 6 weeks and women are prolific egg layers, producing between 250 and 300 per year. Because of this, they are also very Popular for scientific research. And in 1990, they became the first birds to incubate and hatching in space.
Scientists first noticed that Japanese quail had unusual sparkling sperm in the 1950s, and has been the subject of research since. Their unique Seminal foam is produced during coupling by the Proctodeal gland in the Cloaca – the cavity containing both excretory and reproductive organs – and is supposed to improve the chances of successful fertilization of the egg of a female.
The foam joins the seminal fluid and the sperm itself during ejaculation. Its sparkling coherence is created by the contractions of the Cloaca muscles which amplify the effects of gases released by microorganisms in the cavity.
It is believed that the foam helps the sperm to mature after entering the female reproductive tract, where they are stored for 8 to 11 days before fertilization. It can also improve the motility of sperm and protect it from bacteria.
After successful insemination, Males do a little.
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