Motility and the midpiece in primates

Matthew J. Anderson () and Alan F. Dixson
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Matthew J. Anderson: Center for the Reproduction of Endangered Species, Zoological Society of San Diego
Alan F. Dixson: Center for the Reproduction of Endangered Species, Zoological Society of San Diego

Nature, 2002, vol. 416, issue 6880, 496-496

Abstract: Abstract In animals with multiple-partner mating systems, the gametes of two or more males must compete to fertilize a given set of ova1,2,3,4,5. Here we show that the volume of the midpiece in individual sperm is significantly greater in primate species in which the females mate with multiple partners, and in which males have larger testes in relation to their body weight, than in those species that mate with only one partner and have relatively small testes. Our results indicate that sexual selection by sperm competition has influenced the evolution of a specific component of male-gamete morphology, the volume of the sperm midpiece.

Date: 2002
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DOI: 10.1038/416496a

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