The sperm structure of several species belonging to different tribes of the large Carabidae family is described. Some species of Nebriinae, such as Nebria brevicollis and Notiophilus biguttatus, have free conventional insect sperm. Their sperm type can be regarded as the ancestral model for Carabidae. All the other species examined, either with isolated sperm such as Calomera nemoralis, Scarites sp., Duvalius andreinii and Anillus florentinus or with spermatozeugmata and sperm associated to spermatostyles such as Typhloreicheia usslaubi, Brachinus italicus, Carabus convexus, Calathus fuscipes, Calathus montivagus, and Paraphorus mendax, showed sperm with long nucleus and a parallel axoneme running the length of the tail starting from the apical bell-like acrosome. C. nemoralis, like Cicindela campestris previously studied, has a sperm structure similar to that of several other Carabidae, confirming their correct assignment to the family. C. convexus has the same sperm structure as previously studied C. preslii and C. interstitialis, indicating that the spermatozeugmata of the group consist only of an apical cap in which the anterior sperm regions are embedded. Unlike other Carabidae with spermatozeugmata, Carabini have the typical sperm organization with acrosome, nucleus and flagellum in a regular sequence. A. florentinus, (Trechinae) shows major differences, such as the absence of an acrosome and an extremely long nucleus that reaches the end of the tail in close association with the axoneme. T. usslaubi (Scaritinae) has slender spermatozeugmata with orderly quartets of sperm. The posterior region of the sperm tail is also unusual, showing a perfect circular section and a plasma membrane reinforced by a dense underlying layer. The present observations confirm that spermatozeugmata, can vary in shape and size among different species of the Carabidae. Such diversity may be the result of the male reproductive strategy, different in each species, that enhances the efficiency of sperm transfer to the female.

中文翻译：

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刚毛科（Insecta，鞘翅目）精子超微结构的新发现。

描述了属于大步甲科不同部落的几种物种的精子结构。某些Nebriinae物种，如短臂Nebria和短小Notiophilus biguttatus，具有游离的常规昆虫精子。他们的精子类型可以被认为是步甲科的祖先模型。检查的所有其他物种，包括离体的精子，例如Calomera nemoralis，Scarites sp。，Duvalius andreinii和Anillus florentinus，或与精子体相关的精子和精子，如Typhloreicheiausslaubi，Brachiuscipalicus，Carabus cususus，Calathus fus旁遮普虫（Paraphorus mendax）表现出精子，具有长核和平行的轴突，该轴突从根尖的钟状顶体开始延伸到尾部。C. nemoralis，就像先前研究的Cicindela campestris一样，精子结构与其他几只金龟科的精子结构相似，证实了它们对家庭的正确分配。凸状隐孢子虫具有与先前研究的隐孢子虫和间质隐孢子虫相同的精子结构，这表明该组的精子瘤仅由其中埋有前精子区域的顶盖组成。与其他带有精子虫的步甲科不同，卡拉比尼具有典型的精子组织，其顶体，核和鞭毛有规律地排列。A. florentinus（Trechinae）显示出主要差异，例如缺少顶体和与轴突密切相关的到达尾巴末端的极长核。T. usslaubi（Scaritinae）的苗条细长，精子四方排列整齐。精子尾巴的后部区域也不常见，显示出完美的圆形截面和被致密的下层增强的质膜。目前的观察结果证实，不同物种的金龟科的精子可以在形状和大小上有所不同。这种多样性可能是雄性生殖策略的结果，在每个物种中都有所不同，从而提高了将精子转移给雌性的效率。