ISSN:
0362-2525
Keywords:
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Two kinds of spermatozoa are formed in the testis of Goniobasis laqueata, typical (eupyrene) and atypical (apyrene); a similar dimorphism is noted in several other related genera. The development of each type of spermatozoon is described in Goniobasis. The apyrene spermatozoa do not appear in the testis until eupyrene spermatogenesis has progressed to the formation of mature eupyrene spermatozoa. After this time apyrene spermatogenesis becomes predominant. It is suggested that this condition is indicative of a modified protandric hermaphroditism, according to a recent theory of spermic dimorphism. The anatomy of the reproductive system of Goniobasis is described briefly, and the behavior and fate of the two types of spermatozoa are noted. Only the eupyrene spermatozoa are inclosed in a spermatophore formed in a special organ of the male, the apyrenes being somehow excluded. Thus the latter do not reach the female in copulation and can have no necessary functional relationship to the ova at the time of fertilization. The delayed formation of the apyrene spermatozoa, and other facts, indicate that they are probably not concerned with the nutrition or transport of the eupyrene spermatozoa.
Additional Material:
2 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jmor.1050570102
