IIMYC   23581
INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES MARINAS Y COSTERAS
Unidad Ejecutora - UE
artículos
Título:
Intersex in the gonochoristic crustacean Tanais dulongii (Audouin, 1826) (Peracarida: Tanaidacea: Tanaididae): a comparison of external reproductive characteristics
Autor/es:
CARLOS E. RUMBOLD; SANDRA OBENAT; MARÍA SOLEDAD LEONARDI; EDUARDO 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 to their small size, it has not been possible to confirm the presence of genital cones under normal light microscopy. The present study analyses and compares external reproductive structures under scanning electron microscopy, of male and female T. dulongii, 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.