Variation in spermiogenesis in the teleost family Cottidae

In the family Cottidae there is a greater variation in the shape of the sperm than has been found, with one exception, among all the remainder of the teleosts. There is an oval and a slender type of sperm with intergrading forms. The oval and the slender types vary, so that there is a more or less complete gradation from a nearly round, disc‐shaped sperm to a slender, flattened sperm. Spermatid masses have been found only in some of the oval sperm forms. They have been found in seven species and subspecies of the genus Cottus and in three other genera of the family, but have not been found outside of the Cottidae. They occur in widely separated places, such as Norway and China, and in both fresh‐ and salt‐water forms. In Cottus bairdii they are not found in all localities, their presence apparently being due to some external factor, perhaps temperature. It is highly probable that further investigation will show that in other species of the family, also, spermatid masses are present in some localities and not in others.