Abstract
Aspects of the reproductive biology of Pycnogonum littorale (Ström) are examined. Vitellogenesis occurs between November and August, the process resembling that in Nymphon gracile, annelids, and Limulus polyphemus, in which the majority of the yolk is synthesized within the oöcyte, with only a small contribution from outside, thus contrasting with the method in insects. The mode of formation of the mature yolk platelets shows similarities with the process described in Cambarus spp. Growth occurs in the post larva by a series of moults, and sometimes in the adult by a process not involving moults. The male usually has 9 moults and the female 10 or 11.
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Communicated by J. H. S. Blaxter, Oban
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Jarvis, J.H., King, P.E. Reproduction and development in the pycnogonid Pycnogonum littorale . Marine Biology 13, 146–154 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00366565
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00366565