A spermatophore or sperm

ampulla An ampulla (; ) was, in Ancient Rome, a small round vessel, usually made of glass and with two handles, used for sacred purposes. The word is used of these in archaeology, and of later flasks, often handle-less and much flatter, for holy water or ...

is a capsule or mass containing

spermatozoa A spermatozoon (; also spelled spermatozoön; ; ) is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote. (A zygote is a single cell, with a complete set of chromosomes, ...

created by males of various animal species, especially

salamander Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten ...

s and

arthropod Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

s, and transferred in entirety to the female's

ovipore An ovipore is a pore-like sexual organ of a female insect that is inseminated by the spermatophores ejected by the aedeagus of a male insect during copulation. The spermatophores that pass through the ovipore are stored in most insect species i ...

during reproduction. Spermatophores may additionally contain nourishment for the female, in which case it is called a

nuptial gift A nuptial gift is a nutritional gift given by one partner in some animals' sexual reproduction practices. Formally, a nuptial gift is a material presentation to a recipient by a donor during or in relation to sexual intercourse that is not simpl ...

, as in the instance of bush crickets. In the case of the toxic moth ''

Utetheisa ornatrix ''Utetheisa ornatrix'', also called the bella moth, ornate moth or rattlebox moth is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. It is aposematically colored ranging from pink, red, orange and yellow to white coloration with black markings arranged in va ...

'', the spermatophore includes sperm, nutrients, and

pyrrolizidine alkaloid Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), sometimes referred to as necine bases, are a group of naturally occurring alkaloids based on the structure of pyrrolizidine. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are produced by plants as a defense mechanism against insect he ...

s which prevent predation because it is poisonous to most organisms. However, in some species such as the Edith's checkerspot butterfly, the "gift" provides little nutrient value. The weight of the spermatophore transferred at mating has little effect on female reproductive output. Giant squid spermatophore

Arthropods

Spermatophores are the norm in

arachnid Arachnida () is a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals (arthropods), in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegaroon ...

s and several soil arthropods. In various insects, such as bush crickets, the spermatophore is often surrounded by a proteinaceous

spermatophylax A spermatophylax is a gelatinous bolus which some male insects eject during copulation with females through their aedeagi together with spermatophores, and which functions as a nutritive supplement for the female. See also *Nuptial gift A nu ...

. The function of the spermatophylax is to cause the female to relinquish some of her control over the insemination process allowing full sperm transfer from the spermatophore. Some species of butterflies and moths also deposit a spermatophore into the female during copulation. Examples include the speckled wood butterfly or the

ornate moth ''Utetheisa ornatrix'', also called the bella moth, ornate moth or rattlebox moth is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. It is aposematically colored ranging from pink, red, orange and yellow to white coloration with black markings arranged in va ...

, where males invest up to 10% of their body mass in creating a single spermatophore. Malaysian stalk-eyed flies also deposit a spermatophore into the female during copulation, but the spermatophore is very small in size and occupies only part of the female's vaginal capacity. This is likely an adaptation to the tendency towards high mating frequency in this species. These butterfly species have been known to use

mud-puddling Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behaviour most conspicuous in butterflies, but occurs in other animals as well, mainly insects; they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion and they suck ...

behavior, as demonstrated by ''

Dryas iulia ''Dryas iulia'' (often incorrectly spelled ''julia''),Lamas, G. (editor) (2004). Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Checklist: Part 4A. Hesperioidea – Papilionoidea. commonly called the Julia butterfly, Julia heliconian, the flame, or flambeau ...

'', to obtain the minerals needed in spermatophore production.

Cephalopods

Most cephalopods use a specialized arm called the hecocotylus to deliver spermatophores to the female. The spermatophores of the giant Pacific octopus are about a meter (or yard) long. A complex hydraulic mechanism releases the sperm from the spermatophore, and it is stored internally by the female. In some cephalopods, like the argonaut octopus, the arm is detachable and capable of autonomous movement and prolonged survival inside the female, to the point that it was mistaken for a parasitic worm by

George Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in nat ...

, who gave it the generic name of

Hectocotylus A hectocotylus (plural: ''hectocotyli'') is one of the arms of male cephalopods that is specialized to store and transfer spermatophores to the female. Structurally, hectocotyli are muscular hydrostats. Depending on the species, the male may use i ...

(Latin: "hundred" "hollow thing"). In some cases, spermatophores from multiple males might be present inside the same female simultaneously.

Salamanders and newts

Males of most

and

newt A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aqua ...

species create spermatophores, which the females may choose to take up or not, depending on the success of the male's mating display.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Animal male reproductive system Sex organs