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The baculum (also penis bone, penile bone or os penis) is a bone found in the penis of most mammals. It is absent in humans although present in our nearest relative the chimpanzee. The bone aids in sexual intercourse.
The baculum is used for copulation and varies in size and shape by species. Its characteristics are sometimes used to differentiate between similar species.
The word baculum originally meant "stick" or "staff" in Latin. The homologue to the baculum in female mammals is known as the baubellum or os clitoridis or os clitoris.[1]
Mammals having a penile bone (in males) and a clitoral bone (in females) include various eutherians:
It is absent in humans, equids, marsupials, lagomorphs, hyenas, and cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) among others.
Such a wide distribution among placental mammals suggests that the bone evolved early in the history of these mammals, and was subsequently lost in certain groups.
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