A comparative study of the mature spermatozoa of Bulinus africanus (Krauss, 1848) and B. globosus (Morelet, 1866) (Gastropoda: Planorbidae)

Abstract

The morphology of the mature spermatozoa of the closely-related freshwater pulmonates, Bulinus africanus and Bulinus globosus, was examined using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. A comparison showed no useful differences that could be used to distinguish the species though they did differ in one respect from Bulinus tropicus, the only other bulinid for which sperm morphology is known.