Ultrastructure and morphology of the spermatozoa in Vibrissaphora boringii and its taxonomic sense

Abstract

Ultrastructure and morphology of the spermatozoa in Vibrissaphora boringii was studied by light microscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The structural features of spermatozoa in V. boringii and its taxonomical sense in Vibrissaphora and Megophryidae were discussed. The results show that the sperm of V. boringii present basic morphological and structural characters of Megophryidae by having a spiral head, forniciform tail, conical acrosome vesicle. perforatorium composed of fibers, parallel centrioles, two axonemes and mitochondrion lying in the tail, and lacking distinct nuclear fossa, axial fibers and an unduLating membrane. Additionally, comparative analyses of the sperm structure among Megophryidae and other families of tailless Amphibians (Anura) indicates that: 1) The ultrastructural and morphological characters of spermatozoa in Megophryidae, including spiral nucleus, parallel centrioles and two axonemes in the tail, obviously differs from those of the other families of Anura; 2) The distinct differences in size of sperm, the amount and the distribution of mitochondrion, and the range of axonemes also exist among the species and genera of Megophryidae; 3) The ultrastructure and morphology of spermatozoa of Leptobrachium aff. hasselti and Vibrissaphora boringii notably differs from each other.