Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Zoological Institute and Museum, Department of General and Systematic Zoology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2017 Sep 22;7(1):12209. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-12555-5.
The primary function of male copulatory organs is depositing spermatozoa directly into the female reproductive tract. Typical male copulatory organs are sensorily active. This is in contrast to the copulatory organs of male spiders (i.e. palpal bulbi), which have been assumed to lack nerves and muscles until recently. Neurons have been found within the bulbus of the spider Hickmania troglodytes, a taxon basal to all Neocribellata. We provide the first evidence for neurons and an internalized multi-sensillar sensory organ in the bulbus of an entelegyne spider (Philodromus cespitum). The sensory organ likely provides mechanical or chemical feedback from the intromitting structure, the embolus. We found further neurons associated with two glands within the bulbus, one of which is likely responsible for sperm extrusion during mating. These findings provide a new framework for studies on reproductive behaviour and sexual selection in spiders.
雄性交配器官的主要功能是将精子直接沉积到雌性生殖道中。典型的雄性交配器官具有感觉活性。这与雄性蜘蛛的交配器官（即palpal bulbi）形成对比，直到最近，人们一直认为后者缺乏神经和肌肉。在 Hickmania troglodytes 蜘蛛的球茎中发现了神经元，Hickmania troglodytes 是 Neocribellata 的基础分类群。我们首次在 entelegyne 蜘蛛（Philodromus cespitum）的球茎中提供了神经元和内部多感觉感觉器官的证据。感觉器官可能提供来自插入结构（触须）的机械或化学反馈。我们还发现了与球茎内的两个腺体相关的其他神经元，其中一个腺体可能在交配期间负责精子排出。这些发现为蜘蛛生殖行为和性选择的研究提供了新的框架。
