COPULATORY BEHAVIOUR OF MALE RATTUS-NORVEGICUS IN A MULTIPLE-FEMALE EXHAUSTION TEST

The copulatory behaviour of eleven male rats in sexual exhaustion tests each with one oestrous female was compared with that of the same males in tests with five oestrous females. Prior to the first ejaculation there were more mounts and intromissions in the multiple-female test than in the single-female test. Subsequent ejaculatory series were essentially equivalent in the two situations. These results are thought to cast doubt on the 'habituation' theory of sexual exhaustion. In multiple-female tests, the copulatory responses of the males were distributed among the five females in a way such that all females which received ejaculations also received enough intromissions to support pregnancy, but not all females received ejaculations. © 1969.