A new species of mammal discovered in Australia has a favorite recreational pastime- sex.
The black-tailed antechinus, a pink-nosed marsupial that resembles a rodent, was discovered in the Springbrook National Park by a team of mammalogists from the Queensland University of Technology, Live Science reported. Their findings were published in February in the journal Zootaxa.
The team also found that males of the species have so much sex with multiple females, they die before their offspring are born. The females end up giving birth to multiple marsupials from different fathers, Live Science reported.
The university team first spotted the black-tailed antechinus in May 2013. The team lured the brown-furred, five-toed marsupial by setting traps with peanut butter and oats.
The team knew they came across something different when they noticed the animal did not look like its relative the dusky antechinus, Live Science reported.
"When we caught the first black-tailed antechinus in a trap, we knew we were onto something pretty special," Mammalogist Andrew Baker said in a press release obtained by Live Science.
The male of the species mate with females for hours on end in order to increase their likelihood of becoming a father. But the marathon sessions come at a high price. The male's stress hormone levels dramatically increase as a result, causing them to die.
During the breeding season the females hold on to their mate's sperm. Then the females ovulate, causing the eggs to be fertilized by multiple males at the same time, according to Live Science. Most of the females die after they wean the first batch of offspring. However, some of them do live long enough to give birth to several litters.
Discovering a species of mammals is a rare occurrence. Only a few are detected each year, Live Science reported. Baker and his team, which also discovered two other antechinus species, plan to apply for the black-tailed antechinus to be recognized as an endangered species.
