Rhesus Multimount Mating 1

Many primates (including humans) usually copulate in a single mount. Some species, however, show multimount matings, and explaining the evolutionary advantage of this pattern has proved to be a challenge for primatologists. Rhesus macaques are multimount copulators, and mating typically involves up to a dozen mounts and often lasts for over 10 minutes. Photos 7-10 illustrate a copulation series by an arboreal rhesus pair. In image 7. the partners are shown mounted. The male will give several intromitted pelvic thrusts and then dismount without ejaculating.