Matsumura, Yoko, Yoshizawa, Kazunori, Machida, Ryuichiro, Mashimo, Yuta, Dallai, Romano, Gottardo, Marco, Kleinteich, Thomas, Michels, Jan, Gorb, Stanislav N. and Beutel, Rolf G. (2014) Two intromittent organs inZorotypus caudelli(Insecta, Zoraptera): the paradoxical coexistence of an extremely long tube and a large spermatophore. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 112 (1). pp. 40-54. DOI 10.1111/bij.12260.

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Abstract

Very unusual genitalia of the species Zorotypus caudelli are described. It contains the unique configuration of two different intromittent organs, one of them strongly elongated. Hyper elongated genitalia are known in different groups of insects. Males have to accommodate these unwieldy structures in the limited spaces of the abdomen and manipulate them acutely during copulation. A crucial question is how do species with elongated genitalia cope with these requirements? To investigate this, we studied key features enabling storage, insertion, and withdrawal of the elongated genitalia. The co-existence of an elongated narrow tube and a bulky spermatophore is a highly unusual and apparently paradoxical condition. However, we demonstrate that the tube is not involved in sperm transmission, whereas the large spermatophore is transferred to females by a membranous fold of the genitalia. The movement of the spermatophore is caused by haemolymph pressure, which likely also promotes the insertion of both intromittent organs. A comparison with the genital anatomy and reproductive mode in related groups suggests that the elongated tube and its accommodating pouch is a de novo structure, and that the ancestral sperm transport via spermatophore is a preadaptive condition for the acquisition of this unusual structure

Document Type:	Article
Keywords:	copulation; insertion; novelty; penis; preadaptation; sexual selection; withdrawal
Research affiliation:	Kiel University OceanRep > The Future Ocean - Cluster of Excellence
Refereed:	Yes
Open Access Journal?:	No
Publisher:	John Wiley & Sons: Blackwell Publishing
Projects:	Future Ocean
Date Deposited:	28 Jul 2014 12:21
Last Modified:	24 Sep 2019 00:14
URI:	https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/25332

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