Main Ref. | Ruppert, E.E., R.S. Fox and R.D. Barnes, 2004 |
Mode | dioecism |
Fertilization | internal (oviduct) |
Spawning Frequency | |
Batch Spawner | No |
Reproductive Guild |
bearers Internal live bearers |
Description of life cycle and mating behavior | Members of the order Kentrogonida are gonochoric. Life cycle: Nauplius larvae molt into cyprids. The female settles on a host and metamorphose into kentrogon larva, then into vermigon stage and lastly into an interna which lies into the host's cuticle. It then develops into an externa lying outside the host's abdomen. The male cypris larvae attaches to the female externa, the male then molts into a dwarf male (trichogon larva) and remains as a testis parasitic on the female. Fertilization occurs and the externa becomes the egg sac filled with fertilized eggs. |
Search for more references on reproduction | Scirus |