Abstract
Tardigrades are generally gonochoristic. Many moss-dwelling species propagate by parthenogenesis, but heterogony has not yet been found. Milnesium tardigradum, a carnivorous tardigrade, also has both sexes, but males are usually rare and many populations appear to have only parthenogenetic reproduction. Since 2000, I have maintained a thelytokous strain of Milnesium cf. tardigradum that originated from one female. Individuals of this strain were thought to be all females, but here I report that males have emerged in this strain at a very low frequency. This is the first report of the appearance of males in parthenogenetic tardigrades. On the first pair of legs of some individuals, I observed the modified claws characteristic of males of this species. It is unknown whether these males can actually function in sexual reproduction; however, they might allow some possibility of genetic exchange among clonal populations. No environmental factors that generate males were determined.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 849-853 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | Zoological Science |
Volume | 25 |
Issue number | 8 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2008 Aug 1 |
Keywords
- Parthenogenesis
- Sex ratio
- Sexual dimorphism
- Tardigrada
- Thelytoky
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Animal Science and Zoology