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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Morphology of the female genital ducts of the blue land crab Cardisoma guanhumi (Crustacea: Brachyura: Gecarcinidae)

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Author(s):
de Souza, Leonardo P. [1] ; Silva, Jose R. F. [2] ; Araujo, Andrea M. [1] ; Camargo-Mathias, Maria I. [1]
Total Authors: 4
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Estadual Paulista UNESP, Inst Biosci, Dept Biol, BR-13506900 Sao Paulo - Brazil
[2] Univ Fed Ceara UFC, Dept Biol, BR-60455760 Fortaleza, Ceara - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 2
Document type: Journal article
Source: ACTA ZOOLOGICA; v. 94, n. 3, p. 300-307, JUL 2013.
Web of Science Citations: 8
Abstract

This is a histological and histochemical analysis of the terminal portion of the female reproductive system and genital ducts of the blue land crab (Cardisoma guanhumi). Animals were collected in the Jaguaribe estuary (Ceara, Brazil) and dissected. Genital duct fragments were fixed and submitted to different staining techniques. The female reproductive system consists of a pair of ovaries and a pair of genital ducts. In the mid-posterior portion of each lobe, the ovaries communicate with the genital ducts, which are subdivided into oviduct, spermatheca, vagina, and gonopore. Histologically, the spermatheca of C.guanhumi is composed of columnar secretory epithelium and is divided into a dorsal zone and a ventral zone, the latter covered internally by a cuticle layer. Both zones are enveloped by a thin layer of loose connective tissue. Histological cross sections revealed the vagina to be concave, a pattern considered phylogenetically more advanced than the simple, tubular form. Our findings suggest fertilization is internal, favoring sperm from the most recent copulation. (AU)