SOME PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF REPRODUCTION IN XIPHOPHORUS MACULATUS

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Abstract
Females kept in isolation had as many as five broods of young before the spermatozoa stored in the genital tract were depleted. After the stored spermatozoa ceased to fertilize ova, females were inseminated again, and again produced embryos. Inseminating gravid X. helleri females with X. maculatus spermatozoa produced meager results and gave support to the concept of isolating factors between these two sympatric spp. in nature. Since matings showed a selection for one type of spermatozoa over another and competition between spermatozoa of males of different vars. and spp., these simple social factors are shown to operate at a level below that usually regarded as social.