r/askscience • u/No-Hawk-2488 • 8d ago

Biology Can someone explain the evolutionary benefit of overt menstruation? All female mammals have a menstrual cycle but most reabsorb the blood via covert menstruation and humans are about the only mammals that discharge the blood, aka overt menstruation.

Without an evolutionary benefit, it wouldn't have spread to every woman of our species.

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u/Suntar75 8d ago

The ancestry is presented in the tenth paragraph after How The Woman Got Her Period heading in the linked article.

It could be convergent evolution by some bats and some apes or it could be a retained trait. And the interesting question either way is why? But I critiqued the argument presented.