Summary
The flagella of the motile sperm cells of Nymphon leptocheles and N. rubrum (Pyonogonida, Arthropoda) exhibit a 12+0 and a 9+0 axoneme pattern, respectively. Central tubules, central sheath, spokes and arms are absent. The doublets are connected by a circular nexus. The functional significance of this axonemal composition is discussed. Aberrant axonemes occurring in high frequencies both within the species and within single specimens are probably explained by the loose axonemal connection, due to the absence of a central complex. This absence is further suggested to have facilitated the evolution from the 9+0 type to the 12+0 type.
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van Deurs, B. Pycnogonid sperm. An example of inter- and intraspecific axonemal variation. Cell Tissue Res. 149, 105–111 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00209053
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00209053