Sperm ultrastructure in two species of the marine snail family Olividae is examined. Euspermatozoa of both species are composed of a conical, membrane-bound acrosomal vesicle; an axial rod and a basal plate similar in both species; a solid and highly electron-dense nucleus; an elongate midpiece consisting of the axoneme sheathed by helical mitochondrial elements; an elongate glycogen piece; a double electron-dense ring at the junction of the midpiece and glycogen piece; and a free tail region. The slight narrowing in the acrosomal vesicle invagination is situated in different levels between Olivancillaria deshayesiana and Olivancillaria carcellesi. This morphology could be considered as a specific character. The length of the nucleus in O. carcellesi and in O. deshayesiana is shorter than that of other neogastropods, and could be diagnostic at family level.

Beach filling activities were conducted along the Mar del Plata coastline, Argentina, with sediments dredged from the harbour mouth between November 1998 and April 1999. We determined the percentage of imposex of Olivancillaria deshayesiana before, during and immediately after beach filling. The current situation (2005–2007) of imposex incidence was compared between populations from Mar del Plata and Mar Chiquita, a less impacted area. In addition, we evaluated differences in shell shape and body weight between females with and without imposex. The percentage of imposex was significantly higher during (85.3%) and after (73.9%) beach filling than before it (31.0%). No differences in body weight were found in the female population but shell length was significantly lower in females with imposex. As expected, the Mar Chiquita population showed no signs of imposex. This is the first report of imposex in beaches nourished with sand dredged from the port. Our results highlight the importance of analysing more carefully the sediment before beach filling. On the basis of the high level of imposex recorded near the port of Mar del Plata, O. deshayesiana can be used as a biological indicator of marine contamination with butyltin compounds.