Well I wasn’t expecting to look this up today. But it looks like there’s actually plenty of evidence for bats holding onto sperm for months. I’m not sure about them selectively choosing which sperm to use.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10511888/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/veterinary-science-and-veterinary-medicine/female-sperm-storage

And it’s not just bats. Apparently some turtles can hold onto sperm for years.

[–] nodimetotie@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Hmm, how would they even "choose"? Is it like, in different compartments?.. And wouldn't the material go bad after all that time?

[–] girl@lemm.ee 3 points 11 months ago

One of the articles explains that the females have some mechanism for keeping the sperm alive, I imagine the sperm is able to replicate itself as long as the environment is friendly. I’m not sure how they would choose between sperm, that may just be a hypothesis. I unfortunately don’t have the time to read further right now

[–] nodimetotie@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago

Another fun fact about bats that will stick with you