Gamontogamy
Gamontogamy is a special form of sexual reproduction that occurs in some groups of animal protozoa . It is not the actual sex cells ( gametes ) that fuse here , but rather the cells = individuals that form the gametes. These gamete mother cells are called gamonts , hence the name gamontogamy.
In gamontogamy, two (rarely three or more) gamonts usually lie next to each other. Each gamont then carries out the gamete formation (= gamogony). These finished gametes then carry out the actual copulation. During this process, the ectoplasms of the gamonts can fuse together, as in Trichomonas . But they can also remain separate at the cellular level and only surround themselves with a common cell envelope, as with the Gregarines .
In many cases the two partners are of the same size (isogamonts). In the ciliate animals, however, the two gamonts are often very different in size (anisogamonts). The gamontogony of the eyelash animals has some peculiarities and is therefore also called conjugation .
supporting documents
Adolf Remane, Volker Storch, Ulrich Welsch: Short textbook of zoology . 6th edition, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-437-20436-X , pp. 251f.