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Ultrastructure of the Spermatozoa from Three Odontocetes: a Killer Whale ( Orcinus orca ), a Pacific White‐Sided Dolphin ( Lagenorhynchus obliquidens ) and a Beluga ( Delphinapterus leucas )
Author(s) -
MILLER D. L.,
STYER E. L.,
DECKER S. J.,
ROBECK T.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
anatomia, histologia, embryologia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.34
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1439-0264
pISSN - 0340-2096
DOI - 10.1046/j.1439-0264.2002.00385.x
Subject(s) - beluga whale , beluga , biology , minke whale , leucas , whale , anatomy , fishery , cetacea , marine mammal , semen , balaenoptera , zoology , ecology , arctic
Summary Semen was collected from three captive odontocetes: a killer whale ( Orcinus orca ); a Pacific white‐sided dolphin ( Lagenorhynchus obliquidens ) and a beluga ( Delphinapterus leucas ). Semen was collected from the killer whale and Pacific white‐sided dolphin using behavioural commands, whereas semen from the beluga was collected postmortem. Ultrastructure of the spermatozoa was examined using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Species differences were more pronounced in the head sections followed by the midpiece and finally, the tail sections. Spermatozoa from the killer whale and beluga were similar but differed from the Pacific white‐sided dolphin spermatozoa.