Ultrastructure of Ejaculatory Ducts of Cerapanorpa nanwutaina and Furcatopanorpa longihypovalva (Mecoptera: Panorpidae).

Abstract

The ultrastructure of the ejaculatory duct was investigated in the scorpionflies Cerapanorpa nanwutaina (Chou 1981) and Furcatopanorpa longihypovalva (Hua & Cai, 2009) (Mecoptera: Panorpidae) using light and transmission electron microscopy. The ejaculatory ducts of both species comprise a median duct and an accessory sac. The median duct consists of a basal lamina, a mono-layered epithelium, a subcuticular cavity, and an inner cuticle. The accessory sac contains a single layer of epithelium and a basal lamina. A muscular layer is present in the accessory sac of C. nanwutaina and in the median duct of F. longihypovalva. The epithelia in the median duct and the accessory sac are well developed, their cells containing numerous cisterns of rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, and microvilli. The secretions of the median duct are first extruded into the subcuticular cavity and then into the lumen through an inner cuticle, while the secretions of the accessory sac are discharged directly into the lumen. The ejaculatory duct of F. longihypovalva is longer and has thicker epithelium with more cell organelles and secretions than that of C. nanwutaina.