Should Family paper NYT publish this photo of 425 m yr old penis?

[papau]

December 5, 2003
A Fossil, Decidedly Male, and Old as the Hills
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/05/science/05FOSS.html

By JAMES GORMAN


425-million-year-old fossil found in Herefordshire, England, may be the oldest record of an animal that is unarguably male. Scientists report Friday in the journal Science that the tiny crustacean, only two-tenths of an inch long, had an unmistakable penis. In their paper, the scientists name the creature Colymbosathon ecplecticos, which they say means swimmer with a large penis.

David J. Siveter, a geologist at the University of Leicester, said that although this was his literal translation of the Greek, it may, like so many other references to virility in males, be a bit of an exaggeration. Colymbosathon, he said, was not remarkable among its group of crustaceans, the ostracodes. Some have copulatory organs one-third the length of their bodies, he said, and some produce sperm 10 times the length of their bodies. Colymbosathon is more modest; its penis was less than a fifth of its body length.<snip>

There are many fossils, some earlier, that paleontologists judge to be male by overall size or other characteristics. But fossils may be a bit like the ultrasound image that prospective parents inspect so carefully — only the presence of a penis is considered definitive.
Ostracode shells are common fossils and used in studies of ancient climate and of evolution. They are also used in oil exploration to help determine the age of drilled cores. And modern ostracodes are everywhere. They are common in oceans, shallow seas, rivers and lakes. <snip>

Dr. Cronin also praised the detail with which the fossil was reconstructed. Dr. Siveter and his colleagues ground the fossil down 20 microns (one one-thousandth of an inch) at a time, taking a digital photograph at each step. The photographs were combined in a computer to create a precise, three-dimensional virtual reconstruction. The ostracodes, said Dr. Cronin, have another claim to fame. Some are bioluminescent, with flashing patterns that are different for each species. They are, he said, "the fireflies of the sea."<snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/05/science/05FOSS.html

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Wow they looked quite different then

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. Yes.....

rather, er, smaller.

[JohnKleeb]

and unenvolved

:evilgrin:

[Maple]

3. Oh I'd say they were quite safe

publishing this.

[THUNDER HANDS]

4. little known fact

In yiddish, "Magic Rat" also means swimmer with a large penis. :D

[INTELBYTES]

5. Not when it's rock hard!!

(and bigger than mine!)
:wtf:

[GabysPoppy]

6. I would rather see the condom that thing used

[Gloria]

7. Which is the front or the back? Are those antennae near the

thing hanging? Antennae near a penis?? ......Interesting....

[kanrok]

8. There is an "unmistakable" penis in this photo?

If there is, this must be the first recorded case of the clap to boot.

[matcom]

9. GET THAT MAN SOME CREAM!!!!

it is needed BADLY!!

:bounce:

[DoctorMyEyes]

10. I don't see a penis

Someone is going to have to create an overlay complete with arrows and descriptions for me.