Spermatozoon' structure of the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787) (Crustacea, ocypodidae) and comments on other Ocypodid spermatozoa

Abstract

The mature spermatozoon of the ghost crab Ocypode quadrata (Fabricius, 1787) wasdescribed and illustrated at ultrastructural level as a part of a wider program of studies onocypodid crab reproduction carried out in Brazilian southern coast. Adult males of ghostcrab bearing developed gonads were captured; they have part of the vas deferensremoved and fixed for ultrastructural analysis. The material was submitted to a routineprocedure for SEM and TEM observation. The spermatozoon of O. quadrata isultrastructurally as non-flagellated cells, with a spherical shape, with a voluminousacrosomic vesicle that is constituted by three distinct layers. We observed centrioles andapical button that are considered a facultative feature in spermatozoans of brachyurans. Itpresents Xanthid ring in the acrosomic region, which seems modified and enlarged. Theperiopercular rim verified here for O. quadrata was not previously mentioned for anyfiddler crab species and neither for other ocypodoid species. In general, the maturespermatozoon of O. quadrata has typical features like the male's gamete of otherbrachyurans, and present slightly differences with respect to the other congener speciesstudied previously (O. ceratophthalma). © 2009 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.