Fine structure of spermatozoa in the common pandora (Pagellus erythrinus Linnaeus, 1758) (Perciformes, Sparidae)

G. Maricchiolo¹, L. Genovese¹, R. Laurà², V. Micale¹ and U. Muglia²

¹Istituto per l’Ambiente Marino Costiero (IAMC) – CNR, sezione di Messina (Istituto Sperimentale Talassografico), Messina, Italy, ²Dipartimento di Morfologia, Biochimica, Fisiologia e Produzioni Animali - Sezione Morfologia, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Messina, Polo Universitario Annunziata, Messina, Italy

Offprint requests to: Dr. Giulia Maricchiolo, Istituto per l’Ambiente Marino Costiero (IAMC) - CNR. sezione di Messina (Istituto Sperimentale Talasograffico), Spianata S. Raineri 86, 98122 Messina, Italy. e-mail: maricchiolo@ist.me.cnr.it

Summary. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the fine structure of the sperm of the Sparid fish Pagellus erythrinus L.. The spermatozoon of pandora has a spherical head lacking an acrosome, a cone-shaped midpiece and a long tail. The midpiece houses a single mitochondrion. The centriolar complex lies inside the nuclear fossa and is composed of a proximal and a distal centriole which are arranged at right angles to each other. The flagellum is inserted medio-laterally into the head, contains the conventional 9+2 axoneme and possesses one pair of lateral fins. On the basis of its ultrastructural organization, the pandora sperm can be regarded as an evolved form of the primitive spermatozoon found in Teleosts. According to the morphological classification proposed by Mattei (1970), the sperm of pandora belongs to a “type I” designation, like that of the other Sparid fish. Histol Histopathol 19, 1237-1240 (2004)

Key words: Sperm ultrastructure, Fish, Pagellus erythrinus, Sparidae

DOI: 10.14670/HH-19.1237