The Origin and Developmerit of the Spermatophoric

THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER on the origin and development of the spermatophoric mass of Enoplometopus oeeidentalis (Randall) is threef~ld: (1) to increase our knowledge of the blOlogy of this little-known species, (2) to show evidence in suppott of external fertilization, an? (3) ~o extend the list of mechanically sperm-ltberatmg families in Hawaii to include t~eNephropsidae(Homaridaeauet., Nephrops1dae fide Holthuis, 1946). With the possible exception of the Cape crayfish (jasus lalandii, von Bonde, 1936), all recorded observations indicate that the palinurids, the astacids, and the homarids produce continuous, highly convoluted spermatophoric tubes embedded in putty-like m1.trices (Panulirus interruptus-Allen, 1916; Fasten, 1917; Wilson, 1949; P, argus-Crawford and De Smidt, 1923; P. penicillatus-Matthews, 1951; Potamobius trowbridgii-Andrews, 1931; Homarus amerieanus-Herrick, 1895). Although the process has not bee~observed in every case, female peteiopodal gouging of these spermatophores during oviposition probably allows the liberation of their spermatozoa and the subsequent external fertilization. Among macruran spermatophores studied, mechanical liberation of sperm reaches its highest development in the scyllarid Parribaeus antaretieus (Lund). The spermatophoric mass. resembles that of the palinurids, the astaClds, and the homarids, but certain of the pereiopods are provided with special structures