Workshop: Biology of Ampullariidae An integrative view to structure, function, ontogeny and phylogenetical significance of the male genital system in Pomacea canaliculata (Caenogastropoda, Ampullariidae)

The knowledge of the reproductive biology of Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck 1822) is particularly important in the context of its impact as an invasive species in Asia and many Pacific islands (Cowie, 2002). Several studies on the structure of the genital system of P. canaliculata and of other Neotropical ampullariids have been published (see Hylton-Scott, 1957; Andrews, 1964; Martín, 1980; Berthold, 1989; and Thiengo et al., 1993, for early references). The present work is focused on the male reproductive system of this species, and it integrates those early works with more contemporary studies, mainly (but not exclusively) performed with ultrastructural and biochemical techniques. The emerging picture impresses as if the male genital system of Pomacea canaliculata was one of the best studied among freshwater Caenogastropod species, as much as from functional, ontogenetical and phylogenetical perspectives. Copulation, and its role in spawning induction and in sperm competition