Abstract
Scanning electron micrographs of the female genital segment ofPontellina spp. reveal fine-scale structures of systematic and phylogenetic interest. The structures are integumental organs and patches of spinules usually overlooked during routine examinations with a light microscope. Number and arrangement of these structures provide a set of character states and delineate a morphocline in accord with phylogenetic relationships hypothesized previously on the basis of other characters. A basic feature of patchiness shown by the spinules is of ontogenetic interest: arrangement of these patches appears to demarcate individual epidermal cells. The adaptive value of spinules and integumental organs is considered in the light of communicative requirements between partners engaged in courtship and copulation. The specimens used were collected on various expeditions in the warm-water belt of the world oceans and mostly studied during 1977.
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