. The Biological bulletin. Biology; Zoology; Marine biology. PSP DSP Figure 8. Right vulva with tip of sperm plug visible of a recently mated SC1 female. Scale bar = mm. A, anterior; M. medial: Sc, scale; SP. tip of sperm plug. Figure 9. Sperm plug and bursal contents of a female Cancer magister. The sperm plug has been removed from the female's reproductive tract. Scale bar = mm. BS. bursal contents; DSP, distal sperm plug (head of which protrudes from vulva); PSP. proximal sperm plug; R, "root" of proximal sperm plug (enters spermatheca); VC, area of vaginal constriction. F
. The Biological bulletin. Biology; Zoology; Marine biology. PSP DSP Figure 8. Right vulva with tip of sperm plug visible of a recently mated SC1 female. Scale bar = mm. A, anterior; M. medial: Sc, scale; SP. tip of sperm plug. Figure 9. Sperm plug and bursal contents of a female Cancer magister. The sperm plug has been removed from the female's reproductive tract. Scale bar = mm. BS. bursal contents; DSP, distal sperm plug (head of which protrudes from vulva); PSP. proximal sperm plug; R, "root" of proximal sperm plug (enters spermatheca); VC, area of vaginal constriction. Figure 10. Scanning electron micrograph of the root end of the proximal sperm plug. Note its fibrous nature. Scale bar = 100 ^m. Sph, broken spermatophores; SP, sperm plug. to just beyond the vaginal constriction and sometimes to the bursal entrance, occluding the proximal portion of the vagina but never sealing off the bursa. The innermost section of sperm plug is translucent white, firm but slightly pliable, and cannot be separated from the vaginal wall without destroying the vagina. The end entering the sper- matheca has a root-like appearance while the other end is club-shaped or, if extending into the bursa, forms into a y-shape with short blunt arms. In histological sections, the proximal section of plug is eosinophilic, does not stain with Chatton's stain, and appears amorphous; embedded spermatophores are seldom found. SEM examination re- vealed that the plug is composed of numerous tightly packed lengthwise fibers (Fig. 10). The distal, or outermost, section of the sperm plug ex- tends from the end of the proximal plug to slightly outside the vulva. The opaque white distal section is shorter than the proximal section but about the same width and, therefore, does not fill the vaginal lumen or occlude the vulva (Fig. 8). The distal plug does not adhere to the vag- inal wall, is easily broken and, in captive specimens, the visible part is usually lost within hours to days
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectb, booksubjectzoology
