Abstract
An attempt was made to determine the number of spermatozoa per bundle in a scarabaeoid species Gnorimus nobilis both through the analysis of the premeiotic cytology of germ line cells and by counting the spermatids within a spermiocyst at the beginning of the process of spermiogenesis. The obtained results, taken together, indicate that definitive spermatogonia go through a series of 6 synchronous mitotic divisions before entering meiosis as primary spermatocytes, which in turn produce 256 (28) spermatozoa per bundle after completion of meiosis and spermiogenesis. The obtained data are compared with similar ones for other beetle species belonging to the family Scarabaeidae and the suborder Coleoptera-Polyphaga, respectively. Also, some phylogenetic implications of these data are briefly discussed.
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Jurečić, R. Sperm cell number per bundle in Gnorimus nobilis L. (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae). Genetica 76, 27–31 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00126007
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00126007