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Ultrastructure of the spermatozoon of the digenean Cricocephalus albus (Kuhl & van Hasselt, 1822) Looss, 1899 (Platyhelminthes, Pronocephaloidea, Pronocephalidae), parasite of ''the hawksbill sea turtle''Eretmochelys imbricata (Linnaeus, 1766) in Senegal  

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The mature spermatozoon of Cricocephalus albus is filiform, tapered at both ends and shows the following features: 2 axonemes of different lengths presenting the 9+''1'' trepaxonematan pattern, 2 bundles of parallel cortical microtubules, a mitochondrion and a nucleus. Nevertheless, the particularity of the spermatozoon of C. albus is its anterior extremity with an apical electron-dense material associated with extramembranar ornamentation, a cytoplasmic dorsolateral expansion and spine-like bodies. To our knowledge, such an anterior extremity of the spermatozoon has not previously been described from a species of the superfamily Pronocephaloidea. Our study provides new data on the mature gamete of C. albus in order to improve our understanding of the pronocephaloidean phylogenetic relatio...

2011-01-01

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Specific accumulation of arsenic compounds in green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) from Ishigaki Island, Japan  

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Concentrations of total arsenic (As) and individual compounds were determined in green and hawksbill turtles from Ishigaki Island, Japan. In both species, total As concentrations were highest in muscle among the tissues. Arsenobetaine was a major compound in most tissues of both turtles. High concentrations of trimethylarsine oxide were detected in hawksbill turtles. A significant negative correlation between standard carapace length (SCL), an indicator of age, and total As levels in green turtles was found. In contrast, the levels increased with SCL of hawksbill turtles. Shifts in feeding habitats with growth may account for such a growth-dependent accumulation of As. Although concentrations of As in marine sponges, the major food of hawksbill turtles are not high compared to those in algae eaten by green turtles, As concentrations in hawksbill turtles were higher than those in green turtles, indicating that hawksbill turtles may have a specific accumulation mechanism for As. - Green ...

2008-05-15