Onychophora and Myriapoda

Abstract

Of all the phyla of invertebrate animals, the Arthropoda certainly exhibit the greatest diversity of reproductive patterns and methods of insemination, spermatophores constituting only one of several devices that make the transfer of spermatozoa possible (Schaller 1979). This diversity is expressed not only in differences between the various classes which compose the phylum, but becomes even more evident when one considers the events associated with reproduction in separate orders, genera or species within each class. Nonetheless, there are certain features of sperm transit mechanisms and function of spermatophores than can be said to be bound up with individual classes and it seemed to us that it might be best, therefore, to deal with the material relating to arthropods in several chapters. The present one concerns Onychophora and Myriapoda. Insecta (Chap. 6), Crustacea (Chap. 7), and Arachnida (Chap. 8) will be treated separately.