The sperm structure of two species of Embioptera, Embia savignyi Westwood 1837 and Aposthonia japonica (Okajima 1926), was studied. Spermatozoa of both species exhibit a monolayered acrosome and a layer of material surrounding the sperm cells for most of their length. The presence of a 9+9+2 axoneme provided with accessory microtubules with 16 protoWlaments, two accessory bodies and two crystallized mitochondrial derivatives are characters shared with other polyneopteran taxa. The supposed close relationship between Embioptera and Phasmatodea is not supported by characters of the sperm ultrastructure.
Structural features of the eggs of a basal phasmatodean, Timema monikensis Vickery & Sandoval, 1998 (Timematidae) were examined. The eggs of this species are soft and deposited coated with soil and/or other extraneous particles. The chorion, which is transparent and weakly sclerotized, is composed of an endochorion and an exochorion. The non-inclined operculum is located at the anterior pole of the egg. The chorion in the marginal region of the operculum is thinned to form an opercular collar together with the chorion of the egg body. An inverted triangular micropylar plate is on the ventral side of the egg attached to the opercular collar. The micropylar plate is without external differentiations but is specialized inside the chorion. A single micropyle, with a simple funnel-shaped chorionic opening, occurs on either side of the micropylar plate. The posterior mound, located at the posterior pole, is a thickened chorion rich in fine vertical striations, and the serosal cuticle beneath is thickened and highly specialized. The eggs of Timematidae were characterized and compared with those of Euphasmatodea and Embioptera. A phylogenetic discussion is presented, strongly supporting the assemblage of Timematodea, Euphasmatodea and Embioptera as monophyletic.
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