Tudge, C.C., Scheltinga, D.M. and
Jamieson, B.G.M.
1999c. Spermatozoal ultrastructure in the Hippoidea (Anomura,
Decapoda). Journal of Submicroscopic Cytology and Pathology 31, 1-13.
Three species of anomuran mole and sand
crabs (Albunea sp., Emerita talpoida and Hippo pacifica) in the
superfamily
Hippoidea are investigated for spermatozoal ultrastructure. Each
species has a
different spermatozoal morphology but shares, with the others, three
apomorphies - a thickened, multi-layered operculum, a perforatorial
septum, and
a central acrosome zone. The spermatozoa of A. sp. (family Albuneidae)
possess
numerous perforatorial spikes which emanate from the anterior of the
perforatorium and contain electron-dense tubes of longitudinally
aligned
granules. These densely filled perforatorial spikes are not found in
the other
species, E. talpoida and H. pacifica, from the family Hippidae.
The
spermatozoa
of E. talpoida are distinct in
having an elongate acrosome vesicle, a
four
chambered perforatorium and a conical operculum. All three taxa share
significant spermatozoal characters which unite them, but their
relationships
to other investigated anomuran crabs is still unknown.