| Abstract: | The adult ovary of the branchiuran Argulus japonicus is a single, median, long sac-like organ located in the thorax above the alimentary canal. A long germarium, including oogonia, very early previtellogenic oocytes, and young somatic cells (interstitial cells), is embedded in the dorsal ovarian wall along the median longitudinal line of the ovary. The ovarian wall, consisting of a layer of the ovarian epithelial cells, is folded repeatedly and distinctively in the lateral and ventral portions of the ovary. Growing oocytes, previtellogenic and vitellogenic, occur on the outer surface of the ovarian wall, not in the ovarian lumen. The smaller oocytes are located nearer to the germarium and the larger ones on the more ventral surface of the ovary. These structural features of the branchiuran ovary are compared with those of other crustaceans and the pentastomids to consider their phylogenetic implications. J. Morphol. 231:29–39, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc. |
