Testis morphology and spermatozeugma formation in three genera of viviparous halfbeaks: Nomorhamphus, dermogenys, and Hemirhamphodon (Teleostei: Hemiramphidae).

The testes of 19 species of viviparous halfbeaks from three genera, Nomorhamphus, Dermogenys, and Hemirhamphodon, are examined histologically. The testes are unfused, paired organs running laterally along the body wall on either side of the gut. In all genera, primary spermatogonia are restricted to the distal termini of the testicular lobules just beneath the tunica albuginea, conforming to the typical atherinomorph testis type. The short efferent ducts empty into a single longitudinal main duct in each testis. All species package sperm in the form of unencapsulated sperm bundles, which are referred to as spermatozeugmata. The mechanism of packet formation and the resulting spermatozeugmata are similar in all five species of Nomorhamphus and in four species of Dermogenys, with each spermatocyst releasing several small spermatozeugmata. In the other four species of Dermogenys, the mechanism of packet formation is similar, and each spermatocyst releases a single, large spermatozeugma. The spermatozeugmata of six species of Hemirhamphodon are unlike those seen in the other two genera, with five different sperm bundle types described herein. The unique sperm bundles of the viviparous halfbeaks are compared with those of the internally fertilizing but oviparous halfbeak genus, Zenarchopterus, discussed within a phylogenetic framework, and hypothesized to be independently derived within the Atherinomorpha. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.