Bursa copulatrix

Bursa copulatrix describes a part of the male or female genital apparatus in a number of invertebrates, which is also called the mating pouch or bursa for short .

Bursa in butterflies

As part of the determination of very similar species of butterflies, the mating pouch of the females with the mating duct ( ductus bursae ) and the attached seminal duct ( ductus seminalis ) opening into it is prepared for a scanning electron microscopic examination ( SEM ). This genital armature is shown both in its entirety and in detail.

The shape and size of the individual elements are specific to the species, as are their number and location. Inside the bursa there are thorn-shaped chitinized appendages (signum or lamina dentata), which are used to disrupt the spermatophores .

Bursa in roundworms and scratchworms

The nematodes (Nematoda) and the scratch worms (Acanthocephala) the Bursa copulatrix fixing the females during copulation serves. In these groups of animals, the bursa sits behind the cloaca at the rear end of the male.

literature

• Vladimir Kubin: SEM investigations on the bursa copulatrix of some Eupithecia species in: Günter Ebert (Ed.): The Butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 9 (Spanner (Geometridae) 2nd part), Nachtfalter VII. Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 2003. ISBN 3 -800-13279-6