Copulatory behaviour and genital mechanics suggest sperm allocation by a non-intromittent sclerite in a pholcid spider
The male genitalia of pholcid spiders, which is one of the most species-rich spider families, are characterized by a procursus, which is a morphologically diverse projection of the copulatory organ. It has been shown that the procursus interacts with the female genitalia during copulation. Here, we...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
The Royal Society
2023-05-01
|
| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230263 |
| _version_ | 1827937136208248832 |
|---|---|
| author | M. A. Izquierdo T. M. Dederichs F. Cargnelutti P. Michalik |
| author_facet | M. A. Izquierdo T. M. Dederichs F. Cargnelutti P. Michalik |
| author_sort | M. A. Izquierdo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The male genitalia of pholcid spiders, which is one of the most species-rich spider families, are characterized by a procursus, which is a morphologically diverse projection of the copulatory organ. It has been shown that the procursus interacts with the female genitalia during copulation. Here, we investigate the function of the procursus in Gertschiola neuquena, a species belonging to the early branched and understudied subfamily Ninetinae, using behavioural and morphological data. Although many aspects of the copulatory behaviour of G. neuquena follow the general pattern described for the family, males use only one pedipalp during each copulation. Based on our micro-CT analysis of cryofixed mating pairs using virgin females, we can show that the long and filiform procursus is inserted deeply into the unpaired convoluted female spermatheca, and the intromittent sclerite, the embolus, is rather short and stout only reaching the most distal part of the female sperm storage organ. Histological data revealed that sperm are present in the most proximal part of the spermatheca, suggesting that the procursus is used to allocate sperm deeply into the female sperm storage organ. This represents the first case of a replacement of the sperm allocation function of the intromittent sclerite in spiders. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T08:21:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-10a57ea7a0e84713a75c262857903b43 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T08:21:20Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-10a57ea7a0e84713a75c262857903b432023-05-31T07:05:33ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032023-05-0110510.1098/rsos.230263Copulatory behaviour and genital mechanics suggest sperm allocation by a non-intromittent sclerite in a pholcid spiderM. A. Izquierdo0T. M. Dederichs1F. Cargnelutti2P. Michalik3Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, 5000, ArgentinaUniversität Greifswald, Zoologisches Institut und Museum, Loitzer Straße 26, 17489 Greifswald, GermanyFacultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Departamento de Diversidad Biológica y Ecología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, 5000, ArgentinaUniversität Greifswald, Zoologisches Institut und Museum, Loitzer Straße 26, 17489 Greifswald, GermanyThe male genitalia of pholcid spiders, which is one of the most species-rich spider families, are characterized by a procursus, which is a morphologically diverse projection of the copulatory organ. It has been shown that the procursus interacts with the female genitalia during copulation. Here, we investigate the function of the procursus in Gertschiola neuquena, a species belonging to the early branched and understudied subfamily Ninetinae, using behavioural and morphological data. Although many aspects of the copulatory behaviour of G. neuquena follow the general pattern described for the family, males use only one pedipalp during each copulation. Based on our micro-CT analysis of cryofixed mating pairs using virgin females, we can show that the long and filiform procursus is inserted deeply into the unpaired convoluted female spermatheca, and the intromittent sclerite, the embolus, is rather short and stout only reaching the most distal part of the female sperm storage organ. Histological data revealed that sperm are present in the most proximal part of the spermatheca, suggesting that the procursus is used to allocate sperm deeply into the female sperm storage organ. This represents the first case of a replacement of the sperm allocation function of the intromittent sclerite in spiders.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230263three-dimensional reconstructionspider genitaliaspider behaviourcopulatory mechanicssperm transferaraneae |
| spellingShingle | M. A. Izquierdo T. M. Dederichs F. Cargnelutti P. Michalik Copulatory behaviour and genital mechanics suggest sperm allocation by a non-intromittent sclerite in a pholcid spider Royal Society Open Science three-dimensional reconstruction spider genitalia spider behaviour copulatory mechanics sperm transfer araneae |
| title | Copulatory behaviour and genital mechanics suggest sperm allocation by a non-intromittent sclerite in a pholcid spider |
| title_full | Copulatory behaviour and genital mechanics suggest sperm allocation by a non-intromittent sclerite in a pholcid spider |
| title_fullStr | Copulatory behaviour and genital mechanics suggest sperm allocation by a non-intromittent sclerite in a pholcid spider |
| title_full_unstemmed | Copulatory behaviour and genital mechanics suggest sperm allocation by a non-intromittent sclerite in a pholcid spider |
| title_short | Copulatory behaviour and genital mechanics suggest sperm allocation by a non-intromittent sclerite in a pholcid spider |
| title_sort | copulatory behaviour and genital mechanics suggest sperm allocation by a non intromittent sclerite in a pholcid spider |
| topic | three-dimensional reconstruction spider genitalia spider behaviour copulatory mechanics sperm transfer araneae |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.230263 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT maizquierdo copulatorybehaviourandgenitalmechanicssuggestspermallocationbyanonintromittentscleriteinapholcidspider AT tmdederichs copulatorybehaviourandgenitalmechanicssuggestspermallocationbyanonintromittentscleriteinapholcidspider AT fcargnelutti copulatorybehaviourandgenitalmechanicssuggestspermallocationbyanonintromittentscleriteinapholcidspider AT pmichalik copulatorybehaviourandgenitalmechanicssuggestspermallocationbyanonintromittentscleriteinapholcidspider |