Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 March 2006
Gonad of the Mediterranean pectinid Flexopecten glaber was studied in order to describe the morphology and the ultrastructural characteristics of the mature spermatozoa. The spermatozoon has a 2.5 μm pyriform head and a 40–45 μm flagellum. The four mitochondria of the mid-piece are 0.6 μm in diameter. The nucleus contains dense chromatin fibres and possesses two depressions: a wide (0.19 μm) and deep (0.58 μm) sub-acrosomal one, and the other at the base of the head, less deep (0.36 μm) and less wide (0.12 μm). The objective was to situate this scallop in the phylogenetic diagrams found in the literature concerning the commercial pectinid species.