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Features of Oogenesis and Spermatozoa Ultrastructure in the Fishes of the Genera Parascorpaena and Scorpaenopsis (Scorpaenidae)

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Abstract—

Oocyte morphology and spermatozoa ultrastructure are studied in the representatives of the genera Parascorpaena and Scorpaenopsis. Oocytes of P. aurita and S. cirrosa are attached to peduncles originated from ovigerous stroma located in the central part of the ovary. Oocyte diameter at the final phases of vitellogenesis is 450 and 500 µm, respectively. The oogenesis is asynchronous and continuous. Spermatozoa of four species (P. aurita, P. mossambica, S. cirrosa, and S. diabolus) possess similar morphology: spermatozoon head width is slightly larger than its length. The genera Parascorpaena (three species) and Scorpaenopsis (four species) differ in three from four indices designating spermatozoon head and midpiece shapes, size of nuclear fossa in the spermatozoon nucleus base (20–25 vs. 0–12% of head length), and relative location of proximal and distal centrioles (coaxial and orthogonal, respectively). The irregular shape of the nuclear fossa in the spermatozoon nucleus base of P. aurita can be interpreted as apomorphy.

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Notes

  1. Ten individuals of P. mossambica 11.2–14.0 cm TL have been recently described from the coastal zone (Visakhapatnam) of India in the stony area covered with water vegetation at a depth of 12 m (Naranji et al., 2017). A presence of reddish-yellow ocular tentacles on the head of the fish is mentioned, but these structures usual for the species are not described as diagnostic characters, and they are not shown in the figure. Therefore, correct identification of the fishes seems problematic.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Vo Thi Ha and Dinh Thị Hai Yen (Coastal Department of the Russian–Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center) for help in the collection of the material. We thank A.M. Prokofiev (Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences) for help in fish identification.

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The study was carried out with financial support from the Russian–Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center.

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  1. Biological Faculty, Moscow State University, 119899, Moscow, Russia

    N. G. Emel’yanova & D. A. Pavlov

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Correspondence to D. A. Pavlov.

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Conflict of interest. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Statement on the welfare of animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Emel’yanova, N.G., Pavlov, D.A. Features of Oogenesis and Spermatozoa Ultrastructure in the Fishes of the Genera Parascorpaena and Scorpaenopsis (Scorpaenidae). J. Ichthyol. 61, 912–922 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0032945221050040

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