What is the function of the Gonopodium?
What is the function of the Gonopodium?
The gonopodium (modified anal fin of the male used to transfer sperm to the female) is the main character employed as a basis for the taxonomy and classification of the genus (Rosen and Bailey 1963).
What is an Telopod?
telopod (noun; Greek telos, end; pous, foot): 1. (Arthropoda: Crustacea) Part of an appendage distal to the coxa. (Arthropoda: Diplopoda) In males, a modified leg, serving a copulatory function, on one of the posterior segments.
Do millipedes have muscles?
In three species out of the four investigated, some of these muscles, both protractors and retractors , extend to attach to skeletal structures on the flanking segments, VI or VIII, and another muscle (abductor) stretches across the pair of appendages to move them apart in a pincer movement.
What is Gonopodium in molly fish?
A gonopodium is a modified anal fin (it looks rather like a thin rod) that allows male fish of the families Anablepidae and Poeciliidae to briefly hook into the vent of a female fish to deposit sperm. Typical male fish with this fin are: Guppys. Mollies.
Why do fishes have fins?
Their principal function is to help the fish swim. Fins located in different places on the fish serve different purposes such as moving forward, turning, keeping an upright position or stopping. Most fish use fins when swimming, flying fish use pectoral fins for gliding, and frogfish use them for crawling.
What is Genopods?
In crustaceans and millipedes, gonopods are modified walking or swimming legs. Gonopods may be highly decorated with elaborate structures which may play roles in sperm competition, and can be used to differentiate and identify closely related species.
How do millipedes reproduce?
Bristly millipede males must first spin a web on which they deposit their sperm. The female then approaches the web and puts the sperm into her own reproductive organs. Millipedes lay their eggs in the soil. Some species make individual cases for their eggs out of chewed-up leaves.
What do millipedes do?
Millipedes are common arthropods found in damp locations where they feed on decaying organic matter. Millipedes are are beneficial as “recyclers” as they break down decaying organic matter. Millipedes have an elongated, worm-like body with two pairs of short legs on the underside of almost every body segment.
Can millipedes breathe underwater?
Because millipedes use oxygen to breathe, they cannot survive for long underwater. Some millipedes found in floodplains can apparently survive in extremely wet environments for several months. These species are hardy and have adapted to extreme habitats, but even they cannot breathe underwater.
What is the function of tail fin of a fish?
The tail fin (called the caudal fin) is the main source of movement for most fish. It’s like the motor on a boat. It shouldn’t be surprising then, that it is shaped differently according to how the fish needs to move most of the time. This helps the fish to move more efficiently through the water.
What is the function of gonopods in arthropods?
Gonopod. Gonopods are specialized appendages of various arthropods used in reproduction or egg-laying. In males, they facilitate the transfer of sperm from male to female during mating, and thus are a type of intromittent organ. In crustaceans and millipedes, gonopods are modified walking or swimming legs.
What are gonopods in insects?
Gonopods generally occur in one or more pairs, as opposed to the single (un-paired) reproductive organs such as the aedeagus of insects or the penis of harvestmen . In insects, gonopods are appendages of the genital segment that may be used in insemination, or that comprise the egg-laying apparatus.
Do millipedes have gonopods?
Males of the subgroup Pentazonia (which includes the Oniscomorpha (pill millipedes) and Glomeridesmida) lack gonopods but possess enlarged appendages known as telopods at the rear of the body used to firmly hold females during mating.
