Baculum difference in Dire Wolves

[heavyhorse]

On 2/3/2018 at 11:56 AM, arcticwolf said:




possible reasons dire wolves developed this adaptation compared to grey wolves that did not, and existed alongside dire wolves.

Something I remember reading somewhere in the past is that the differences in baculum between wolves and dire wolves is probably more an indication of behavioral differences.  (Behavior normally being difficult to determine by fossil remains.)  




In wolves mostly only the Alpha male and female breed.  The others are tasked with providing food and care for the cubs of the alphas.  Who the alphas are has been determined long before mating, there is almost no sexual competition.  Thus no need to be hung like a horse, if Mr Alpha is a pencil-dick he has no competition anyway, so he's good.




Dire wolves were presumed to behave more like domestic street dogs; when a bitch was in heat a "heat pack" followed her around and multiple males mated with her.  In this scenario the competition is sexual; there is less male infighting but the guy who could deliver more sperm deeper in the female would sire more pups, (and passing on the characteristic of "bigger bits = better breeding").  




This way of doing things was presumed to be an advantage to dire wolves by avoiding the "pack hierarchy" structure of 2 breeders and their relatives, and going with most of them mating and raising pups for more of a "mega pack" of wolves that would be better able to bring down mammoths and the other massive game of the era.  




So sort of a niche thing.  Dire wolves being an adaptation suited for huge game.  Grey wolves being suited to smaller and sparser game.  And unfortunately the Dires going extinct when there were no longer huge food sources to sustain huge packs.  




And oh yeah, I would have loved to have seen the bitch vaginas that mated those males.....   

[HeartBeatOfTheBeast]

I wonder if other Ice Age species such as SaberTooth Cats also had disproportional large dicks? 

[arcticwolf]

Also, what truly is the size comparison difference?




Is the difference equal to that of a modern grey vs a large hung dane or bernard?




Also, how much actual erectile tissue was there?




Was the erectile size difference flaccid and fully erected similar to modern canine differences? Was the erectile size only slightly larger overall with the bulk in the actual knot? Like a softball on a hotdog. Was the erected size near the equivalent of a well hung dane or bernard?




It seems like a dire would likely have similar erectile tissue, and therefore hung similar to a well hung dane.




 

[heavyhorse]

A valid observation.  Data on the typical size range of Great Dane bacculums seems lacking. 

3 hours ago, arcticwolf said:




It seems like a dire would likely have similar erectile tissue, and therefore hung similar to a well hung dane.

That would be my suspicion as well.    

[heavyhorse]

On 9/16/2020 at 11:02 PM, heavyhorse said:




Data on the typical size range of Great Dane baculums seems lacking. 

"Largest / Smallest" results:  For mounted Great Dane skeleton > 14 cm.  So a Dire's is 30% larger than a "largest" Great Dane's.  

[threelegs]

Need a movie: "Bacula vs Frankenstein" ... or maybe "Bacula vs the Bride of Frankenstein".




"Bacula vs the Werewolf" would be like who gets to be on top first.

[arcticwolf]

Some food for thought




Dire wolves are around the same size as a large tundra wolf




 








Epicyon  is a large extinct canid genus of the subfamily Borophaginae ("bone-crushing dogs"), native to North America. It lived from the Hemingfordian age of the Early Miocene to the Hemphillian of the Late Miocene. Epicyon existed for about 12-9 million years. The largest known specimen weighed an estimated 170 kg.




<i>Epicyon</i> was about 1.5 m-1.7m(5 ft-5.57) long,  and is estimated to have an average weight of 91–136 kg (200–300 lb) in the largest species; <i>E. haydeni</i>.




<i>Epicyon</i> had a massive head and powerful jaws, giving its skull a lion like shape rather than having a skull similar in shape to that of a wolf. It is one of, if not the largest, known genus of canid. It was well adapted for bone-crushing, with enlarged fourth premolars like some hyenas. This adaptation would have allowed <i>Epicyon</i> to scavenge as well as hunt, giving it access to the nutritious marrow other contemporary carnivores couldn't access.^[3]



<i>Epicyon</i> was one of the last of the Borophaginae, and shared its North American habitat with several other canids.




Hard not wonder what they were swinging. Would bet a sheath at least like a pringles can. A real fur covered missile. Possibly grapefruit knot or more like a cantaloupe.




Notice that the epicyon is also displayed with a baculum, because it so distinctive in size from other wolves just like the dire wolf baculum

[heavyhorse]

The last photo is a bit of an enigma; the skull shape is more Dire (less bear-like and higher top ridge).  And no baculum.  So a bitch?  Rather small in pelvic area, relatively; looks more male width.  Ribs are too short.  And is this a normal size human; does the head-to-body ratio seem rather dwarfish?  Maybe a publicity pose rather than an actual skeleton mount (like the top of the thread)?