title: Ultrastructure of apyrene and eupyrene spermatozoa from the seminal vesicle of Euptoieta hegesia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae).
abstract: The ultrastructure of the seminal vesicle's spermatozoa of the butterfly Euptoieta hegesia was analyzed. The apyrene spermatozoa measure about 300 microm in length and swim freely in a secretion. The anterior end consists in a cap with a cylindrical extension and a globular structure. The flagellum has a 9+9+2 axoneme, two mitochondrial derivatives with paracrystalline matrices and an external coat formed by concentric layers. The eupyrene spermatozoa measure about 550 microm in length and are grouped into bundles. The anterior end consists in an amorphous globule. Posterior to this globule, a coat with a dense material covers the spermatozoon where an acrosome and a nucleus appear. The flagellum has a 9+9+2 axoneme and two mitochondrial derivatives. External to the coat and attached to the dense material, there is a reticular appendage, which has a paracrystalline core and extends to the distal tip of the spermatozoon.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biologia Celular, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas--Unicamp, Brazil.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dolder
mesh_terms: D000177:Acrosome / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D000818:Animals; D002080:Butterflies / Q000166:cytology*; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D012669:Seminal Vesicles / Q000166:cytology*; D013082:Sperm Tail / Q000648:ultrastructure*