Gay ape

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This suggests same-sex sexual behaviour has been gained and lost many times, and quite recently, during mammalian evolution.

Different lineages showed different times at which same-sex sexual behaviour evolved. There are reports of same-sex behaviour (courtship, mounting, genital contact and copulation, pair bonding) in 261 (out of 5,747) mammal species.

These species represent about half of all mammal families.

Primates are strongly represented.

Alternatively, same-sex behaviour may help to diminish conflict between members of the same sex, and contribute to establishing social hierarchies.

The new research explores same-sex relationships across a wide range of mammals.

The big picture of same-sex relationships

Human aren’t the only mammals to show a high frequency of same-sex relationships.

It is more common, or more commonly acknowledged, in human societies in which it is not perceived of as an abnormal or aberrant behavior.

Occurrence in Other Animals: 

Homosexual behavior has been observed in mammalian and avian species and appears to be particularly common among marine mammals.

References

  1. Male homosexuality and maternal immune responsivity to the Y-linked protein NLGN4Y, Bogaert, Anthony F., Skorska Malvina N., Wang Chao, Gabrie José, MacNeil Adam J., Hoffarth Mark R., VanderLaan Doug P., Zucker Kenneth J., and Blanchard Ray , PNAS, 2017/12/11, (2017)

Since gay couples have fewer children, the high frequency of same-sex relationships in humans is puzzling from an evolutionary point of view.

An evolutionary view of 'gay genes'

Other hypotheses referenced in the new paper propose that same-sex behaviour has beneficial effects for human groups. These benefits are not necessarily the same in different mammal lineages, and may include others that have not yet been investigated. The distribution of same-sex behaviour over all mammals didn’t fit the pattern we would expect if it were present in the common ancestor of all mammals, and was retained in some lineages but not others.

Read more: Homosexuality may have evolved for social, not sexual reasons

A better explanation for the evidence is that same-sex sexual behaviour was rare in mammalian ancestors overall, but evolved independently many times in many different families.

Two bonobo females having sex looks very different than two female albatrosses sitting placidly on their nest.

gay ape

The new study contradicts this.

Using a tree of relationships of mammals to each other – confirmed with DNA sequence comparisons – the patterns of same-sex sexual behaviour were mapped onto the relationships between species.

Being Gay Is Natural: Just Ask Bonobos (Op-Ed)

Brian Hare is an associate professor of evolutionary anthropology at Duke University, and Vanessa Woods is the author of "Bonobo Handshake"(Gotham, 20011).

Homosexual behavior, same-sex genital contacts or manipulation, likely functions in several contexts in the Great Apes, including: dominance, tension regulation, reconciliation, and social bonding. They occasionally torture each other, kill strangers and demonstrate other echoes of humanity's dark side. They were orphans of the bushmeat trade, and were born in the wild.

Mostly this behaviour is frequent and overt, occurs in the wild, and in half the species is displayed by both sexes. They share food. It asks whether this behaviour was ancestral to all mammals, or whether it evolved independently in response to the establishment of different social systems.

Same-sex sexual behaviour evolved many times and quite recently

It has been proposed that the common ancestor of mammals indulged in indiscriminate sexual behaviour, which manifested as a mix of same-sex and heterosexual relationships.

Homosexual contacts in primates can include ventro-dorsal and ventro-ventral mounting, genito-genital (g-g) rubbing, manual-genital contact, and oral-genital contact, and may also be accompanied by penile erection and ejaculation, as well as female orgasm.

Universality in Human Populations: 

Homosexual behavior is likely universal in human populations.