Male reproductive apparatus of some blennioidei (Pisces: Teleostei)

I performed a comparative study of the morphology of the male genital apparatus on 11 species of blennies: Acanthemblemaria spinosa (Chaenopsidae), Enneanectes pectoralis, E. boelkei (Tripterygiidae), Gillellus rubrocinctus (Dactylopteridae), Labrisomus nuchipinnis, L. haitiensis, L. bucciferus, Paraclinus nigripinnis, Malacoctenus versicolor, M. triangulatus, and M. macropus (Labrisomidae). In the chaenopsid fish, an unpaired testis and a single seminal vesicle occurred. The seminal vesicle consisted of a single chamber containing no sperm and was filled with an homogeneous secretion. In the tripterygiid, dactyloscopid, and labrisomid species testes were paired, with a testicular gland interposed between the seminiferous lobules and the spermduct of each testis. Interspecific differences were noted in the volume of the testicular gland, relative to that of the testis, and in the development of the spermduct. Histochemical stainings in the testicular gland of Malacoctenus triangulatus and M. macropus revealed the secretion of glycogen and nonsulphated mucins. The possible involvement of the testicular gland, seminal vesicle, and spermduct in the nutrition of germ cells, production of a viscous seminal fluid and storage of sperm is discussed