Spermatophoric Mass of the Lobster — Matthews 
369 
mature individuals carry sperm. On the other 
hand, during the breeding season with the 
exception of a few who had recently cast their 
shells, no mature female was found which did 
not have putty or evidence of its former 
presence.” No attempt was made to investi- 
gate the contents of the putty-like masses. 
The spermatophoric mass on females of 
P. penicillatus which have extruded their ova 
is deeply scratched; the gouges exhibit a 
roughened surface and extend through the 
black, exposed surface, through the matrix, 
and through the wall of the spermatophoric 
tube. Figure 10 shows the left side of the 
spermatophoric mass intact and without deep 
gouges. When sectioned (right side), the 
spermatophore contained motile spermato- 
zoa. It should be recalled that this female 
would probably have discharged her ova 
presently. Where evidence of the former 
spermatophoric mass remained, it was deeply 
gouged, and the exposed, torn spermato- 
phore of both the right and the left side was 
empty. 
Many theories have been advanced for the 
liberation of spermatozoa from the spermato- 
phore. That the rosette glands of the female’s 
integument may produce a substance which 
dissolves the capsules of the spermatophoric 
wall may hold true for the delicate peduncu- 
late spermatophores of the Anomura and 
Brachyura, but this method of liberating 
spermatozoa seems very unlikely for P. peni- 
dllatus. A chemical reaction that would liber- 
ate the spermatozoa would have to be exactly 
timed so that spermatozoa would be available 
the instant the ova were released. Even so, 
such action could scarcely have produced the 
deep, jagged gouges one observes on the 
spermatophoric mass of P. penicillatus. It 
seems much more reasonable to assume that 
the spermatozoa are liberated by the scratch- 
ing action of the female’s pereiopods, a 
method in accord with the observations of 
■Crawford and De Smidt (1923) on P. argus 
-and Smith (1948) on P. interruptus. 
CONCLUSIONS . 
The H -shaped testis of Panulirus penicil- 
latus (Oliver), when reconstructed from serial 
sections, is found to be a racemose or com- 
pound gland of freely branching ducts which 
terminate in acini. The racemose, anterior por- 
tion of the testis joins ultimately the racemose, 
posterior portion of the testis to form a highly 
contorted tube. This tube, imbedded in the 
tissue of the testis, traverses for some distance 
both anteriorly and posteriorly the region of 
the mid-testis. Cross sections throughout the 
entire testis show follicles in various degrees 
of maturity, although the cells in any one 
follicle usually exhibit the same stage of 
development. 
The immature follicle becomes filled with 
potential primary spermatocytes by mitotic 
division of its seminiferous epithelium. A 
heterotypic, followed by a homeotypic, divi- 
sion of these cells results in the formation of 
spermatids. Other potential spermatocytes 
fail to complete the spermatogenic process, 
and all stages of disintegration of these cells 
are observed. Further development within the 
follicles is attributed to the action of Sertoli 
cells which, arising from the germinal epi- 
thelium, encompass the spermatids. The for- 
mation of a lumen, giving the follicle a wheel- 
like appearance, is attributed to the sloughing 
off of these Sertoli cells. 
Longitudinal sections through the collect- 
ing tubules show the sperm mass to be com- 
posed of four main components: developing 
spermatids, disintegrating spermatocytes, a 
nutrient substance, and portions of sloughed- 
off Sertoli cells. The evidence of spermatid 
clusters in the region of initial lumen forma- 
tion as well as in sections of the collecting 
tubules strongly suggests that the spermatids 
in each cluster represent those individuals 
that develop within a given Sertoli cell. 
The continuous sperm mass receives its 
spermatophoric wall from the tube formed by 
the juncture of the anterior and posterior 
racemose portions of the testes. The thickness 
