AB

Aquatic Biology

Aquatic Biology is a gold Open Access journal and a multidisciplinary forum for research on the biology of organisms in marine, brackish and fresh waters. SEDAO (Sexuality and Early Development in Aquatic Organisms), an international journal that covered all aspects of reproduction and early development in marine, brackish and freshwater organisms, was incorporated into AB in late 2015.

Online: ISSN 1864-7790

Print: ISSN 1864-7782

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/ab

Impact Factor0.8 (JCR 2025 release)

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Volume contents
Aquat Biol 16:241-251 (2012)

Reproductive apparatus of the male giant hermit crab Petrochirus diogenes (Anomura, Diogenidae): morphology and phylogenetic implications

ABSTRACT: We describe the male reproductive apparatus of the giant hermit crab Petrochirus diogenes, with morphological and biometric analyses of the spermatophore, the gonopore and the ultrastructure of the spermatozoa. Specimens were collected from the southern coast of São Paulo, Brazil. Morphological analyses were done using stereoscopic, light, transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The reproductive system of this hermit crab is composed of elongate and lobular testes followed by vasa deferentia that connect to the exterior via gonopores. The gonopores are ovoid and surrounded by setae, and each gonopore is composed of a membranous operculum that forms a depression constituting the gonopore opening. The gonopore constitutes a unique structure among the Diogenidae due to its number of setae. The spermatophores are tripartite, composed of a sperm-containing ampulla, a peduncle and a proximal foot. The spermatozoon has 3 main regions (acrosomal vesicle, nucleus and cytoplasm). The structure of the spermatophore indicates that this species can be considered an exception within Diogenidae with regard to spermatophore morphology and can therefore be used for phylogenetic inferences.

KEYWORDS

Raquel C. Buranelli (Co-author)

Fernando L. Mantelatto (Corresponding Author)
flmantel@usp.br