Simple Penis Research Articles

Martensopsalis, a new genus of Neopilionidae from New Caledonia (Opiliones: Eupnoi).

New Caledonia has an endemic opiliofauna with two named species of Triaenonychidae, 17 Troglosironidae and eight Zalmoxidae. The recent finding of Neopilionidae on Grande Terre was thus surprising, and required the formal description of a new genus, which we undertake here. Martensopsalis gen. nov. is characterized by a small unsclerotized body with a unique palp with a pointed basal apophysis on the ventral side of the femur and with a distal apophysis on the prolateral side of the patella. The distinct external morphology, simple penis and unique phylogenetic position justify the erection of the new genus with Martensopsalis dogny spec. nov. as its type species. In addition to the type locality we report several other localities of putative congeneric, yet undescribed species.

Hamatopeduncularia Yamaguti, 1953 (Monogenea: Ancylodiscoididae) from catfish off Peninsular Malaysia: Description of two new species and insights on the genus.

Hamatopeduncularia longiangusticirrata sp. nov. and H. petalumvaginata sp. nov. were collected from Arius maculatus and Nemapteryx caelata, respectively from Tanjung Karang, Peninsular Malaysia. Morphological and molecular investigations were carried out to ascertain the identity of the new species. The two new species differ from previously described Hamatopeduncularia species in the morphology of the male and female reproductive organs. Hamatopeduncularia longiangusticirrata sp. nov. possesses a long penis similar to H. elongata, H. longicopulatrix, H. brisbanensis, H. major and H. petalumvaginata sp. nov., but differs in having a thread-like tapering distal end and can be distinguished from H. brisbanensis and H. major in not having an accessory piece. Hamatopeduncularia longiangusticirrata sp. nov. is also unique in having an ornamented penis initial and a vaginal tube surrounded by fine hair-like structures. Hamatopeduncularia petalumvaginata sp. nov. possesses a simple penis without an accessory piece and a petaloid vaginal opening that resembles the arrangement of petals on a flower. Maximum likelihood trees were constructed from partial 28S and 18S rDNA sequences of the two new species and other ancylodiscoidids to reveal a strongly supported monophyletic branch consisting of the two new species for both markers. According to Lim's classification in 1996 of Hamatopeduncularia species penis type, H. petalumvaginata sp. nov. has been classified within the elegans-type and H. longiangusticirrata sp. nov. is proposed as the longiangusticirrata-type.

Notes on the sinistral helicoid snail Bertia cambojiensis (Reeve, 1860) from Vietnam (Eupulmonata, Dyakiidae).

Since the time of the original description there have been no precise locality records in Cambodia of Bertia cambojiensis (Reeve, 1860) and it was believed to be extinct. In 2012, a joint Natural History Museum survey with Vietnamese colleagues rediscovered living populations of this huge sinistral helicoid snail in a protected area of southern Vietnam. The genitalia and radula morphology are re-assessed and type specimens of all recognised congeners are figured herein. The unique morphological characters of this species are a small and simple penis, well-developed amatorial organ complex that incorporates four amatorial organ ducts, a short gametolytic organ complex and spiked papilla, and radula morphology with unicuspid teeth. The type locality of B. cambojiensis, which has been contentious, is determined here to be in the vicinity of ‘Brelum’, Vietnam, near the border with Cambodia. In addition, the nucleotide sequences of barcoding genes COI, 16SrRNA and 28S fragments were provided for further comparison.

Taxonomic revision of the species of Parvanachis Radwin, 1968 (Gastropoda: Columbellidae) from the Gulf of Panama.

Species of Parvanachis Radwin, 1968 collected from the Gulf of Panama are anatomically characterized and taxonomically revised. Six species are reported to occur in the region: P. pygmaea (Sowerby, 1832), P. pardalis (Hinds, 1843), P. diminuta (C.B. Adams, 1852), P. albonodosa (Carpenter, 1857), P. milium (Dall, 1916), and P. dalli Bartsch, 1931. Of these six, three are confirmed as described. P. milium was not found in new collections or the previous survey collection and may be more common further south. P. dalli is a synonym of P. pygmaea; and P. albonodosa (auct.) is renamed, because the type material represents a different species. Two new species are described, P. dichroma and P. adamsi. P. pardalis, based on anatomy and shell and radular morphology, is referred to the genus Anachis, and Costoanachis nigricans (Sowerby, 1844), based on anatomy and shell morphology, is transferred to Parvanachis. The resulting seven species of Parvanachis constitute two groups; one (including the type species) with smaller shells and a simple penis morphology, and a group of four larger species with more complex penis morphology.

Anatomy of predator snail Huttonella bicolor, an invasive species in Amazon rainforest, Brazil (Pulmonata, Streptaxidae)

The morpho-anatomy of the micro-predator Huttonella bicolor (Hutton, 1838) is investigated in detail. The species is a micro-predator snail, which is splaying in tropical and subtropical areas all over the world, the first report being from the Amazon Rainforest region of northern Brazil. The shell is very long, with complex peristome teeth. The radula bears sharp pointed teeth. The head lacks tentacles, bearing only ommatophores. The pallial cavity lacks well-developed vessels (except for pulmonary vessel); the anus and urinary aperture are on pneumostome. The kidney is solid, with ureter totally closed (tubular); the primary ureter is straight, resembling orthurethran fashion. The buccal mass has an elongated and massive odontophore, of which muscles are described; the odontophore cartilages are totally fused with each other. The salivary ducts start as one single duct, bifurcating only prior to insertion. The mid and hindguts are relatively simple and with smooth inner surfaces; there is practically no intestinal loop. The genital system has a zigzag-fashioned fertilization complex, narrow prostate, no bursa copulatrix, short and broad vas deferens, and simple penis with gland at distal tip. The nerve ring bears three ganglionic masses, and an additional pair of ventral ganglia connected to pedal ganglia, interpreted as odontophore ganglia. These features are discussed in light of the knowledge of other streptaxids and adaptations to carnivory.

Six new species of aglajid opisthobranch mollusks from the tropical Indo-Pacific

Six new species of aglajid opisthobranchs are described from various localities in the tropical Indo-Pacific. Philinopsis falciphallus n. sp., found from the Marshall Islands to the Red Sea, is distinguished by its reddish body color, a distinct black or maroon longitudinal line on the foot, a posterior projection on the posterior shield and a penis with a chitinous, sickle-shaped spine and numerous smaller spines. Philinopsis coronata n. sp., known only from the Philippines, is similar to P. falciphallus but dominated by yellow body color and a ventral surface of the foot with yellow and maroon spots. It has a trumpet-shaped penis with a crown of rounded tubercles on the apex and anterior and posterior zones of penial spines. Philinopsis ctenophoraphaga n. sp. is found from the Philippines, Indonesia and the Red Sea. It feeds on platyctene ctenophores, including Coeloplana meteroris. It can be distinguished by its elongate posterior lobe of the headshield, reddish color with white spots, thinly muscularized buccal mass and simple, unarmed penis. Chelidonura mandroroa n. sp. is characterized by its black body with orange patches lined by yellow. It has a simple penis with a cuticularized apical papilla. This species has been found from Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Madagascar and Kenya. Chelidonura alisonae n. sp. is apparently restricted to the central and eastern Pacific of the Hawai’ian Islands, Johnston Island, the Marianas Islands and Easter Island. It is similar in coloration to C. hirundinina, but has orange lines on the dorsal and lateral shields and has a broad right posterior lobe rather than an acutely pointed one. The penis is simple and unarmed. Odontoglaja mosaica n. sp., found from the Indian Ocean of Madagascar and South Africa, differs from O. guamensis by possessing a reticulate pattern on the notum rather than a pattern of brown spots. It also has a shorter penial papilla that is bifurcate rather than undivided one.

New data on Hydrobiidae systematics: two new genera from the Iberian Peninsula

A deep systematic study of the Spanish hydrobiid fauna is unravelling a more complex group of species than was previously described. The use of different taxonomical and statistical methodologies helps to clarify this old classification. Based on anatomical studies made for the first time on specimens from the type locality of Paludina sturmi (Rosenhauer, 1856), the species is redescribed and transferred to a new genus Boetersiella. The study demonstrates that Horatia (?) sturmi (sensu Boeters, 1988) is a combination of two species belonging to two new, different but closely related genera, B. sturmi and Chondrobasis levantina gen. and sp. nov. A second species for the first genus, B. davisi, is also described. Morphometrical analysis (MANOVA and DFA) combining species of both genera showed clear differences in some shell variables although the most valuable discriminant characters are related to the female and male genital systems and to the size and shape of the osphradium. Boetersiella mainly differs from Chondrobasis in having a simple penis while a small basal penial lobe is present in the second; in addition, the distal seminal receptacle is bigger in Boetersiella and leans over the bursa copulatrix instead of over the renal oviduct as is the case in Chondrobasis. The two new genera differ from Horatia Bourguignat, 1887 in three main characters: the lack of a ctenidium, the presence in the female genitalia of only one seminal receptacle in a distal position and a penis simple (in Boetersiella) or with a small lobe close to its basis (in Chondrobasis). None of these characters are present in the type species Horatia klecakiana (Bourguignat, 1887). Both sets of character/character-states also differ from the other two valvatiform genera described for the Iberian Peninsula, Neohoratia Schütt, 1961 and Tarraconia Ramos and Arconada (in Ramos et al., in press). Comparisons with other European valvatiform genera were made although the lack of accurate anatomical data for most of them prevented any cladistical approach.

Parallel Evolution and Ontogeny of Simple Penis among New World Cricetid Rodents

Two penile types, simple and complex, seem to distinguish North and South American cricetids; their origins were investigated by study of dissected and stained glans of 101 adult and young specimens. A simple penis with only a proximal baculum was found in Abrothrix longipilis and A. sanborni from Chile. In the North American Peromyscus eremicus , juvenile males displayed three small and transient pieces of cartilaginous tissues exactly where those of the complex penis are located. It is suggested that simplification of the baculum was produced independently in the two New World groups. A. longipilis also showed elongation of the glans, probably inducing the formation of a ventral cleft, os bending, and regression of the distal baculum and lateral sacs; strikingly, its proximal baculum ossified late, when third molars erupted. Since ossification and distal bacular differentiation in muroids usually are induced by testosterone much earlier, and testosterone-dependent glands also have been modified in simple-penis species, such delay might be a mechanism inducing elongation, with simplification a secondary heterochronic effect.

Reproductive systems and cyclic release of eggs in Littorina melanostoma from Malayan mangrove swamps (Mollusca: Gastropoda)

Littorina melanostoma, living high in the tidal range on mangrove vegetation, has reproductive systems similar to those of other littorinids but characterized especially by a closed, tubular prostate and simple penis in the male, and by complex, spiral pallial glands in the female. Eggs are released in simple pelagic capsules which hatch to release veliger larvae in seven days. Egg capsules are released almost entirely during the periods of spring tide associated with full moon. Such release occurs at all seasons of the year. Some females release eggs at successive full moons but it appears likely that many females more commonly release eggs at alternate full moons. There is no evidence of endogenous rhythms of egg release related to the times of high tide or the day/night cycle.