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Observations on the ultrastructure of the copulatory organ of Archilopsis unipunctata (Fabricius, 1826) (Proseriata, Monocelididae)

  • Ultrastructure
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Abstract

The copulatory organ in adult specimens of Archilopsis unipunctata has been studied by transmission electron microscopy.

This copulatory organ is of the conjuncta-duplex type with eversible cirrus. The seminal vesicle, lined with a nucleate epithelium, is surrounded by spirally arranged muscles. The fibres are enclosed in a sheath that is continuous with the septum of the bulbus and the basement lamina of the male canal epithelium. Distally to the seminal vesicle the bulbus is filled with the secretory cell-necks of the prostate glands. The male canal shows three different parts: seminal duct, ejaculatory duct and eversible cirrus. At the transition of seminal duct and ejaculatory duct two prostate ducts open into the lumen. The structure of the epithelium lining the different parts of the canal is described. The transition into the cirrus may be recognized by an abrupt change in the thickness, the electron density and the stratification in the basement lamina and by the disappearance of the epithelium absent indeed in the cirrus. The material found inside the cirrus-lumen is different according to the zone considered. The origin of this material and of the cirrus teeth is discussed.

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Abbreviations

ab-:

apoptotic body

ba-:

bacteria

bb-:

basal bodies of cilia

bl-:

basement lamina

bw-:

body wall

c-:

cilia

cb-:

cell body

cgp-:

common genital porus

ci-:

cirrus

cip-:

cirrus plug

cl-:

lumen of cirrus

cm-:

circular muscles

cr-:

cytoplasmatic remnants

cs-:

cytoplasmatic sheets

ejd-:

ejaculatory duct

epej-:

epithelium of ejaculatory duct

d-:

desmosomes

f-:

flagella of spermatozoa

fd-:

female duct

fp-:

female porus

gc-:

golgi complex

gl-:

glycogen particles

hd-:

hemidesmosomes

lm-:

longitudinal muscles

ly-:

lysosome-like body

m-:

muscles

mb-:

muscles of the bulbus

mc-:

muscles of the cirrus

mc-:

muscles of the seminal vesicle

mi-:

mitochondria

ml-:

microvilli

ms-:

mesenchyme

nsd-:

nuclei of the seminal duct

pd-:

prostate duct

pg-:

prostate glands

ri-:

ribosomes

s-:

septum

sb-:

secretory vesicle

sd-:

seminal duct

sp-:

spines

sv-:

seminal vesicle

v-:

vagina

vd-:

vas deferens

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. SBM, Limburgs Universitair Centrum, B-3610, Diepenbeek, Belgium

    Els E. Martens & Ernest R. Schockaert

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  1. Els E. Martens
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  2. Ernest R. Schockaert
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Martens, E.E., Schockaert, E.R. Observations on the ultrastructure of the copulatory organ of Archilopsis unipunctata (Fabricius, 1826) (Proseriata, Monocelididae). Hydrobiologia 84, 277–285 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00026191

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