In an important discovery in the evolutionary history of sexual reproduction, scientists studying fossils have discovered that the intimate act of sexual intercourse used by humans was pioneered by ancient armored fishes, called placoderms, about 385 million years ago in Scotland.
The scientists found that male fossils of the Microbrachius dicki, which belong to a placoderm group, developed bony L-shaped genital limbs called claspers to transfer sperm to females.
Females, for their part, developed small paired bones to lock the male organs in place for mating. Placoderms are the earliest vertebrate ancestors of humans.
This new finding, shows that "they gave us the intimate act of sexual intercourse as well".
The research involved scientists from Australia, Estonia, Britain, Sweden and China, who analyzed fossil specimens from museum collections across the world.
These demonstrate the first use of internal fertilization and copulation as a reproductive strategy known in the fossil record.
Measuring about 8 centimeters (3 inches) in length, Microbrachius lived in ancient lake habitats in Scotland, as well as parts of Estonia and China.
Now that's food for thought...or sex...or both!