NO. 3567 LABIDOCERA JOLLAE GROUP—-FLEMINGER 27 
when present, usually occurrred in conjunction with a type 1; ie., 
most specimens with a type 2 placement also carried another sperma- 
tophore in the type 1 position. Type 1 is, therefore, considered to 
be normal placement on the basis of higher frequency, more wide- 
spread occurrence, and the reasonable assumption that the opening to 
the neck of the spermatophore must be closely associated with the 
genital pore to provide the female with sperm. 
The Punta Frailes sample (table 5) is distinguished by a high pro- 
portion of females bearing more than one spermatophore. In this 
sample, examined in toto, males outnumbered females 1.2 to 1 and 
80 percent of females carried one or more spermatophores. This 
percentage is unusually high in my experience and suggests the time 
of sampling coincided with a local mating swarm. Sexual swarming, 
if this in fact occurred, and an excess of males over females, could be 
the basis for the large number of misplaced spermatophores. In any 
event, comparison of placement types 1 and 2 provides some insight 
into the question of sexual behavior in the genus Labidocera. 
Of primary significance in spermatophore attachment in the Punta 
Frailes sample is the suggestion of instinctive ritualistic behavior 
which seems to have a high degree of species-specificity. The com- 
plexly arranged coupler is cemented to the female genital segment 
with such precision that spermatophore position, in addition to form, 
provides a valid criterion for identifying the species. The fact that 
type 2 placement is the reciprocal of type 1 can be interpreted as 
evidence that the male accomplishes coupler placement relative to 
his position on the female. Since the normal type 1 placement is 
much more frequent and since only one type of alternative placement 
has been seen, it can be inferred that the male positions himself in a 
specific manner relative to the orientation of the female. The pre- 
dominant co-occurrence of type 1 placements on females bearing type 
2 placements suggests further that the former type either deters sub- 
sequent males from assuming a type 1 orientation or that a second 
male grasped a female on the side opposite the normal position already 
occupied by another male. Instances of two or more spermatophores 
of one placement type superimposed on one another could be the 
product of a single male that fails to release the female after cementing 
the first spermatophore or the outcome of subsequent matings by other 
males. Abnormal placement of spermatophores in other species of 
the jollae group were not observed. 
In all, spermatophores have been examined in 15 species found in 
the Western Hemisphere and an additional number from Africa and 
Asian coastal waters (Fleminger, unpubl.). Each species was found to 
have its own characteristic coupler—sac morphology and placement. 
One notable point of interest is the fact that the greater the extent of 
