"9. Female fossas are temporarily masculine. The female fossa undergoes a strange developmental stage during adolescence known as transient masculinization, unique to fossas. She develops an enlarged, spiky clitoris that resembles the male's penis, and secretes an orange substance on her underbelly which is usually only seen in mature males. Adult females lack these features. It's unclear what purpose this transient masculinization serves, but scientists hypothesize that it protects juvenile females from either sexual harassment by adult males or aggression from territorial females."

[wired.com]