Spermatophore implantation in Rossia moelleri Steenstrup, 1856 (Sepiolidae; Cephalopoda).

Hoving, H. J. T., Namelaerts, S., Van Genne, B., Stamhuis, E. J. and Zumholz, Karsten (2009) Spermatophore implantation in Rossia moelleri Steenstrup, 1856 (Sepiolidae; Cephalopoda). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 372 . pp. 75-81. DOI 10.1016/j.jembe.2009.02.008.

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Abstract

The small sepiolid cephalopod Rossia moelleri Steenstrup, 1856 transfers sperm by implantation of spermatangia into female tissue. Although this is a common sperm transfer and storage strategy in cephalopods, the mechanism behind implantation of spermatangia is poorly understood. In the lab, we artificially induced the spermatophoric reaction and spermatangia implanted into female tissue. The force necessary to penetrate the mantle was measured using a needle attached to a force transducer. Taking diameter and bluntness factor into account, this force was estimated to be 0.3 N. Analysis of the spermatophoric reaction showed that the maximum force (1.12 μN–9.36 μN) produced as a result of acceleration (1.57–3.59 mm/s2) of the forward moving sperm mass (2.6–7 mg) was insufficient to be solely responsible for the penetration of the spermatangia into tissue. Scanning electron microscopy revealed no structures that could have facilitated the implantation of the spermatangium. Histological sections of the implanted spermatangium visualized the cement body being orally secreted from the spermatangium, probably facilitating the implantation either by lysis of the surrounding tissue or by acting as a lubricant during implantation. This study shows that the autonomous implantation process of spermatangia of R. moelleri does not have a purely mechanical basis but necessitates an additional, probably chemical mechanism or a combination of these two.

Document Type: Article
Keywords: Cephalopoda; Mating; Mollusca; Reproduction; Rossia moelleri; Spermatangium; Spermatophore implantation; Spermatophoric reaction;
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB3 Marine Ecology > FB3-EV Marine Evolutionary Ecology
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: Elsevier
Projects: CephLit
Contribution Number:
Project
Number
CephLit
4344
Date Deposited: 07 Aug 2009 11:04
Last Modified: 07 Sep 2021 12:29
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/7103

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