The reproductive system of the Duck is similar to that of the snake. It contains the testes where sperm is produced. The sperm is emptied into the epididymis, and then carried by the vas deferens to the cloaca. The Duck however has some other specializations in addition to this basic layout that the snake does not have. In the Duck, the testes contain a network of interconnected seminiferous tubules. Seminal vesicles are small, flat structures that open into the vas deferens near the terminal end. The duck has a single intermittent organ called a phallus. The testes drastically increase in size during the mating season and are very reduced when not in the mating season, as seen in the first picture below (Chiasson 1959). The cloaca is present in most primitive gnathostomes and persists in embryos of almost all vertebrates. For this reason the cloaca in birds as well as reptiles seems to be a primitive vertebrate feature. External fertilization seems to be most common in early vertebrates, while internal fertilization using an intermittent organ such as the phallus in the duck seems more prevalent in later vertebrates. This may be due to the increase in sperm transfer success by using an intermittent organ in conditions where external fertilization would be disadvantageous (Kardong 2002).