INVESTIGADORES
LEONARDI Maria Soledad
artículos
Título:
Intersex in the gonochoristic crustacean Tanais dulongii (Audouin, 1826) (Peracarida: Tanaidacea: Tanaididae): A comparison of external reproductive characteristics.
Autor/es:
C.E. RUMBOLD; S. OBENAT; M.S. LEONARDI; E. SPIVAK
Revista:
JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY
Editorial:
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
Referencias:
Lugar: Londres; Año: 2015 vol. 49 p. 775 - 788
ISSN:
0022-2933
Resumen:
Tanais dulongii (Audouin, 1826) is a small benthic crustacean with separate sexes and a marked sexual dimorphism characterized by a cephalothorax narrowed anteriorly, larger chelae (claws) and a pair of tiny genital cones in males, and ovisacs that form chambers for carrying embryos in females. Recent studies have described the existence of intersexual individuals with a cephalothorax similar to males, large chelae and ovisacs, but, due their small size, the presence of genital cones has not been possible to confirm under normal light microscopy. The present study analyzes and compares external reproductive structures under scanning electron microscopy, between male and female of T. dulongii, in order to corroborate the presence of both ovisacs and genital cones in potentially intersex individuals. The possible causes, such as hermaphroditism, environmental sex determination, parasitism, genetic aberration or endocrine disrupting pollutants, are discussed.