Article 6
Spermatangia implantation in subfamily Sepiolinae (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae)
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ABSTRACT. – The spermatangia implantation and the bursa copulatrix structure of several Mediterranean species of the Sepiolinae subfamily, namely Sepiola intermedia, Sepiola rondeletii, Sepiola robusta, Sepiola steenstrupiana, Rondeletiola minor, Sepietta neglecta and Sepietta oweniana, were histologically examined. In cross section, the bursa copulatrix lumen outward consisted of epithelium and connective tissue. It has been found that in spermatangia implantation, an important role is played by mucus-producing goblet cells, which are differentiated cells of the epithelial tissue lining the bursa copulatrix lumen. In histological sections of the implanted spermatangia, cement body was located in the oral opening in a spiral shape and stayed in the spermatangia. In this adherence, there was only epithelial tissue secretion between spermatangia and connective tissue. This study described for the first time how spermatangia attach themselves to the Sepiolinae bursa copulatrix, which represents a spermatangia implantation type different from those reported in other cephalopods.