FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 73, NO. 3 



The intent of this paper is to present detailed 

 descriptions of the spermatophores of the five 

 species of Litopenaeus. Except for the close 

 resemblance of the spermatophores of P. schmitti 

 and P. setiferus, all of them, although structurally 

 similar, are quite different in appearance; 

 therefore I have emphasized apparent homologies. 

 An effort has been made to explain the manner in 

 which the spermatozoa egress from the sperma- 

 tophores to fertilize the eggs. The association of 

 the components of attached spermatophores with 

 the corresponding thelycum in each species is in- 

 dicated. Finally, the role played by the coxal plates 

 of the third through the fifth pairs of pereopods of 

 the females in keeping the compound sperma- 

 tophore attached to the thelycum is briefly dis- 

 cussed. 



The material examined is indicated in the 

 treatment of each species. The following 

 abbreviations are used for repositories of the 

 specimens: ANSP - Academy of Natural Sciences 

 of Philadelphia; INIBP - Instituto Nacional de 



Figure 2.-Pena€Ms (Litopenaeiia) vannamei Boone. Compound 

 spermatophore attached to female, 9 43 mm cl, off Panama 

 Province, Panamd. Abbreviations as in Figure 1. 



Investigaciones Biologico-Pesqueras, Mexico; 

 UNC-IMS - Institute of Marine Sciences, Univer- 

 sity of North Carolina; USNM - National Museum 

 of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution; and 

 YPM - Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale 

 University. The carapace length (cl) is the linear 

 distance between the orbital margin and the mid- 

 posterior margin of the carapace. The illustrations 

 have been made from preserved specimens; the 

 accompanying scales are in millimeters. 



DESCRIPTIONS OF 

 SPERMATOPHORES AND THELYCA 



The descriptive accounts of the Pacific species 

 are ordered according to the relative complexity of 

 the respective spermatophores (P. vannamei, P. 

 occidentalis, and P. stylirostris), and are followed 

 by those of the Atlantic species (P. schmitti and P. 

 setiferus), the spermatophores of which are 

 markedly similar. The spermatophores of each 

 species are described both as attached to the 

 females, where they invariably occur in pairs, and 

 as they appear when removed from the terminal 

 ampullae of males. Next, detailed accounts of the 

 thelyca are presented, which emphasize the main 

 features for the support of the component parts of 

 the spermatophores. A list of the material 

 examined is given, including the numbers of 

 impregnated females. Finally, the geographic 

 range of each species is indicated. 



Penaeus {Litopenaeus) vannamei Boone 1931 

 Figures 2-4 



Spermatophore 



The compound spermatophore (Figure 2) con- 

 sists of a slender geminate body lacking wings and 

 blades, and bearing thick, broad, lateral flaps, and 

 a pair of long, caudal flanges. 



Ventrally, each spermatophore (Figure 3A) 

 exhibits a lateral furrow that roughly delimits a 

 subovate anterior portion, bulging laterally, from 

 an elongate, smoothly convex portion that extends 

 to the flange; the thick, opaque ventral wall 

 merges indistinctly with the lateral wall, which is 

 mostly opaque and to which is loosely attached a 

 conspicuous internal lamina; posteriorly, just 

 before joining the flange, these walls turn strongly 

 , dorsad along an oblique line forming the fundus of 

 the sac. The broad, mantlelike flap projecting from 

 the lateral wall is thick, fleshy ventrally, and 



466 



