Mating Worms
The Courtship Dance
Up Close
Here is a close-up look of a pair of worms mating. The male is on the bottom. He inserts a structure called a spicule into the hermaphrodite's vulva. The spicule serves to allow the male to hang onto the hermaphrodite during mating; the sperm are not actually transferred through the spicule.
Soon we hope to be able to show you a more highly magnified view so that you can witness the sperm entering the hermaphrodite, activating, and fertilizing oocytes. Stay tuned.
http://www.mcb.arizona.edu/wardlab/matingvid.html
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Last Modified: June 30, 1998
Paul Muhlrad pmuhlrad@u.arizona.edu