Departamento de Biologia, Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Maranhão-IFMA, Maranhão, Brazil.
Micron. 2012 Jun;43(6):695-704. doi: 10.1016/j.micron.2012.01.013. Epub 2012 Feb 3.
The genera Centris and Epicharis constitute the Centridini and are widely distributed in the Neotropical region. Centris is also found in the southern portion of the Neartic region, although both genera are more abundant in the humid tropical regions. To describe the structure of the male reproductive system and spermatozoa, light and transmission electron microscopy were used. The male reproductive system of Centris sp. is formed by a pair of testes, a pair of deferent ducts, a pair of seminal vesicles, a pair of accessory glands and an ejaculatory duct connected to the external genitalia, the aedeagus. In this species, testes and the pre-vesicular deferens ducts as well as the seminal vesicles are encapsulated in a single conjunctive capsule, the scrotal membrane. Each testis consists of four testicular follicles, made up of cysts with up to 64 germinative cells. Histologically, the seminal vesicles are formed by a simple cylindrical epithelium, basal membrane and muscular tunic. The spermatozoa of Centris analis, C. fuscata, C. tarsata and Centris sp. are morphologically similar. They have two easily distinguishable regions: the head and flagellum. The head is formed by the two-layer acrosome, the linear nucleus and the flagellum, the centriole adjunct, the axoneme of pattern 9+9+2 microtubules, two asymmetric mitochondrial derivatives and two accessory bodies. These Centris species share various morphological characteristics of the male reproductive system and spermatozoa with the other bees previously described, indicating that several characteristics are synapomorphic for the family Apidae. Studies on the morphology of the male reproductive system and spermatozoa in Hymenoptera have demonstrated the diversity of the information provided by these reproductive structures, which can be used in taxonomy studies and the phylogeny of this important group of insects.
该属 Centris 和 Epicharis 构成 Centridini，广泛分布于新热带区。Centris 也分布于新北区的南部，尽管这两个属在潮湿的热带地区更为丰富。为了描述雄性生殖系统和精子的结构，使用了光镜和透射电镜。Centris sp. 的雄性生殖系统由一对睾丸、一对输精管、一对精囊、一对附属腺和连接到外生殖器的射精管组成，即阳茎。在该物种中，睾丸和精囊前输精管以及精囊被包裹在单个连接囊，即阴囊膜中。每个睾丸由四个睾丸滤泡组成，由含有多达 64 个生殖细胞的囊组成。组织学上，精囊由简单的圆柱形上皮、基底膜和肌层组成。Centris analis、C. fuscata、C. tarsata 和 Centris sp. 的精子在形态上相似。它们有两个容易区分的区域：头部和鞭毛。头部由双层顶体、线性核和鞭毛、中心粒附属物、9+9+2 微管模式的轴丝、两个不对称的线粒体衍生物和两个附属体组成。这些 Centris 物种与之前描述的其他蜜蜂共享雄性生殖系统和精子的各种形态特征，表明几个特征是 Apidae 科的共衍征。膜翅目雄性生殖系统和精子形态学的研究表明，这些生殖结构提供的信息具有多样性，可用于分类学研究和该重要昆虫类群的系统发育。
