The spawning and spawning mechanism ofNephtys caeca(Fabricius, 1780) andNephtys hombergiSavigny, 1818 (Annelida:Polychaeta)

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Abstract
The natural spawning of a population of Nephtys caeca in a beach in the estuary of the River Tyne has been observed. The animals spawned via the anus during periods of low tide on two consecutive days after which the population was spent. Histological examination reveals the development of a cleft in the central part of the gut in the prepygidial segment which serves to deliver the mature gametes to the anus for spawning. This system is developed only in mature worms of both sexes and has also been discovered in Nephtys hombergi; it is suggested that this represents the normal pathway for the discharge of gametes in the Nephtyidae, which lack functional coelomoducts.

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