At this time of year, the undergrowth is a hive of activity as mouse-sized marsupial carnivores called antechinus come together for a once-in-a-lifetime mating ritual — literally. Australia is home to ...

What if I told you that in Australia, a mouselike marsupial called antechinus breeds so manically during its three-week mating season that the males bleed internally and go blind, until every male ...

MEET the antechinus, a mouse-like marsupial that literally disintegrates by having too much sex. The little fella goes at it nonstop for a few weeks, then dies. Why? This mouse-like marsupial, called ...

Two chubby marsupial species that would literally die for sex (albeit 14-hour sessions) have been discovered Down Under, researchers now report. The new species are types of antechinus, a bristly ...

Male antechinuses live through just a single, extremely intense mating season. So to maximize their chances at sex, these little carnivorous marsupials waste as little time on sleep as possible, new ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Two chubby marsupial species that would literally die for sex (albeit 14-hour sessions) have been ...

The bristly, sex-crazed antechinus has two previously unknown species in its family, a new study finds. Every year, antechinus males mate furiously during sex sprees lasting as long as 14 hours. But, ...

Out with a bang Sperm competition drives suicidal reproduction in antechinus and other marsupials, according to a new study by Australian researchers. The research, which was published in the journal ...

When males die from sex-fuelled exhaustion, still-living members of the species are known to feast on fallen comrades If you are exploring our beautiful Australian wilderness this year, keep an eye ...

For a small number of animals, reproduction marks a biological endpoint rather than a stage in an ongoing life cycle. Death follows mating with such consistency that it can be predicted within a ...

This story appears in the June 2016 issue of National Geographic magazine. In a fairy tale by the brothers Grimm, a pied piper’s music lures rats to their doom. What leads the mouselike creature ...