These Marsupials Are Sexing Themselves To Death
All the males of the newly discovered species die before they're 1 year old.
Oh, wow, look at this cute little mouse thing. I bet it lives a long and fruitful marsupial life. Ha, no. Kidding! It probably dies from bumping uglies too hard.
Australian scientists recently discovered these little creatures, a black-tailed variety of antechinus, in New South Wales and Queensland. The genus is famed for mating with all of its might, then falling over dead. How dead? Let _T__he Telegraph _explain, graphically:
At about 11 months old, the marsupials do it alllll night (literally, 12 to 14 hours) and most of the males die before the resulting offspring are born. Until about a year ago, researchers assumed they died from selflessly starving during the winter, saving food for the kids. But, nope, it’s definitely because of crazy sex.