Chromosomes in sexual populations of notostracan and con-chostracan taxa (crustacea, branchiopoda)

Branchiopods reproductive mechanisms range from gonochorism to unisexuality, passing through an-drodioecy. In order to contribute to still lacking or controversial basic knowledges, we analyzed the karyotype of the main Italian taxa: the Notostracan living fossils Triops cancriformis (parthenogenetic) and Lepidurus apus lubbocki (bisexual), and the Conchostracan Eoleptestheria ticinensis (bisexual). Also one male obtained from a supposedly hermaphroditic Austrian population of T. cancriformis was checked. In T. cancriformis a diploid number of 12 chromosomes is observed in both females and male; this is in line with previous results on other Italian populations, but contrasts with observations on European samples. The richness of normal meiotic pictures indicates that the male specimen is able to produce sperms. L. apus lubbocki shows a diploid number of 10 chromosomes; in male specimens the mispairings during meiosis I could explain the haploid number of 6 chromosomes obtained from diakinetic plates in Palestinian samples of the same subspecies found in literature. Irregular meiotic divisions also highlight the ultrastructurally observed abortive spermatogenesis. Finally, in the presently analyzed population of E. ticinensis, the adult females show 10 chromosomes as diploid number, while males present 10 or 11 elements; in the nauplii, chromosome numbers range from 8 to 12, differing among unrelated individuals, between nauplii produced by the same female and even within the same nauplius. B elements are taken into account. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.