Spermatophore Diversity Within and Among the Hermit Crab Families, Coenobitidae, Diogenidae, and Paguridae (Paguroidea, Anomura, Decapoda)

Abstract

The spermatophore morphology of 13 species of hermit crab from the families Coenobitidae, Diogenidae and Paguridae is described and illustrated, and comparisons are made with existing descriptions to show that spermatophore form, at the light microscope level, can be used to separate three families of the Paguroidea. Spermatophores from members of the family Coenobitidae are robust in nature with large, ovoid-spherical ampullae mounted on short, thick stalks. Members of the family Diogenidae have more fragile spermatophores with small spherical ampullae mounted on long, slender stalks. The spermatophores of members of the family Paguridae are distinctive in possessing large, elongate, ampullae, an accessory ampulla at the base of the main ampulla and a pseudo-stalk analogous with the true stalk of the Coenobitidae and Diogenidae. The occurrence of double-headed spermatophores (two ampullae on a single stalk) is recorded for the first time, in a Dardanus species. The ultrastructure of the lateral ridge, which divides the ampulla of the paguroidean spermatophore into two halves, is described using both scanning and transmission electron microscopy. A simple, branching key for classifying the investigated hermit crabs (from the families Coenobitidae, Diogenidae and Paguridae only) into their respective family, based on the gross morphology of their spermatophore, is presented.

Spermatological evidence supports the taxonomic placement of the Australian endemic hairy stone crab Lomis hirta (Decapoda: Anomura: Lomidae)

“…It can be ascertained that the spermatophores are pedunculate (Fig. I), and therefore typical of the Anomura studied to date (Tudge, 1991(Tudge, , 1995a (Hinsch. 1980(Hinsch.…”

Probing the architecture of testis and morphology of male germinal cells in the mud crab with the atomic force microscopy

“…Following this, many structural and functional features of crustacean spermatophoric elements were elucidated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13). However, there has been concern about the limitations of light microscopy (14) in illustrating the lobular arrangement in toto.…”

Reproductive apparatus of the male giant hermit crab Petrochirus diogenes (Anomura, Diogenidae): morphology and phylogenetic implications

“…The male reproductive apparatus of hermit crabs has a speciesspecific morphology and has recently been used in phylogenetic studies (Tudge 1997, Tirelli et al 2006, 2008. Spermatozoa are bundled together with secretory materials in the VD and eventually form the spermatophores (Subramoniam 1991, 1993, Krol et al 1992), a common means of spermatozoa transfer that has evolved among invertebrates (Tudge 1991, Sub ramoniam 1993. The production of these structures is habitat-related, and in marine species, the spermatophores appear to reduce spermatozoal loss (Subramoniam 1993).…”

“…Among Anomura, spermatophores are generally pedunculate (Subramoniam 1993, Tudge 1999b) and can be divided into 3 major regions: a sperm-filled ampulla, a stalk of variable length and a sticky foot or pedestal that affixes the spermatophore onto the female (Tudge 1991, 1999a, Subramoniam 1993. Spermatophores in anomurans display species-specific morphology in the shape of the ampulla and the length of the peduncle (Subramoniam 1984).…”

“…Spermatophores in anomurans display species-specific morphology in the shape of the ampulla and the length of the peduncle (Subramoniam 1984). In Diogenidae, spermatophores generally display long, thin stalks and small, spherical ampullae (Tudge 1991).…”