Evidence for sperm storage in common smoothhound shark Mustelus mustelus and paternity assessment in a single litter from South Africa

S N Maduna; J H Van Wyk; C Da Silva; E Gennari; A E Bester-Van Der Merwe

doi:10.1111/jfb.13565

Evidence for sperm storage in common smoothhound shark Mustelus mustelus and paternity assessment in a single litter from South Africa

J Fish Biol. 2018 Apr;92(4):1183-1191. doi: 10.1111/jfb.13565. Epub 2018 Mar 1.

Authors

S N Maduna¹, J H Van Wyk², C Da Silva^{3

4}, E Gennari^{5

6}, A E Bester-Van Der Merwe¹

Affiliations

¹ Molecular Breeding and Biodiversity Group, Department of Genetics, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag XI, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa.
² Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag XI, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa.
³ Fisheries Research, Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Private Bag X2, Rogge Bay ,8012, South Africa.
⁴ Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
⁵ Oceans Research, PO Box 1767, Mossel Bay, South Africa.
⁶ South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Private Bag, 1015, Grahamstown, South Africa.

PMID: 29492981
DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13565

Abstract

The present histological study of adult female common smoothhound shark Mustelus mustelus demonstrates that the species can store sperm in their oviducal glands. In addition, single paternity of a litter of 22 pups is reported, contributing to further knowledge regarding the genetic and behavioural mating strategy of M. mustelus.

Keywords: common smoothhound; elasmobranch; monoandry; parentage; polyandry; sperm storage.

MeSH terms

Animals
Female
Male
Microsatellite Repeats
Oviducts / physiology*
Sexual Behavior, Animal
Sharks / genetics
Sharks / physiology*
South Africa
Spermatozoa*