A capsule or compact mass of spermatozoa extruded by the males of certain invertebrates and primitive vertebrates and directly transferred to the reproductive parts of the female.
spermatophoral sper'ma·toph'o·ral (spûr'mə-tŏf'ər-əl) adj.
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Wikipedia:
spermatophore
A spermatophore is a capsule or mass created by males of various invertebrate species, containing spermatozoa and transferred in entirety to the female's ovipore during copulation. It may contain nourishment for the female, in which case it is called a nuptial gift, though recent research has indicated that this "gift" provides little nutrient value.
In various insects, such as Bush Crickets, the spermatophore is often surrounded by a proteonaceous spermatophylax.The function of the spermatophylax is to cause the female to relinquish some of her control over the insemination process allowing full sperm transfer from the spermatophore.
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Spermatophore". Read more |
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