Scheltinga, D.M.,
Jamieson, B.G.M., Espinoza, R.E.
and Orrell, K.S. 2001a. Descriptions of the mature spermatozoa of
the
lizards Crotaphytus bicinctores, Gambelia wislizenii
(Crotaphytidae) and Anolis carolinensis (Polychrotidae)
(Reptilia, Squamata, Iguania). Journal of Morphology 247, 160-171.
The spermatozoa of Crotaphytus
bicinctores
and Gambelia wislizenii (Crotaphytidae),
and Anolis carolinensis
(Polychrotidae) exhibit the squamate autapomorphies of a single
perforatorium
extending anteriorly from the apical tip of the paracrystalline
subacrosomal
cone, the presence of an epinuclear electron-lucent region, and
extension of
the fibrous sheath into the midpiece. Crotaphytid sperm differ from
those of
polychrotids in several respects, including: the structure of the
perforatorium, the size of the epinuclear electron-lucent region,
aspects of
the acrosome complex, the arrangement and structure of
intermitochondrial dense
bodies, and in the distance the fibrous sheath extends into the
midpiece. The
sperm of C. bicinctores, G. wislizenii, and A. carolinensis are most
similar to
those of the agamids and phrynosomatids examined to date. No
spermatozoal
autapomorphies for Crotaphytidae or Polychrotidae were found. The
condition of
having the intermitochondrial dense bodies arranged in regular
incomplete rings
is tentatively defined as a synapomorphy of Iguania (although modified
in
Chamaeleonidae). Spermatozoal ultrastructure offers no characters that
justify
the separation of Iguanidae (sensu lato) into several separate families.