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Fertilization and normal development inAscidiella aspersa (Tunicata) studied with Nomarski-optics

Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen volume 43, pages 245–258 (1989)Cite this article

Abstract

Normal development ofAscidiella aspersa was studied over a period of approx. 24 h at 20°C from egg insemination through metamorphosis of the tadpole larva using Nomarski-optics. Records were made of spermatozoa attaching to and passing through the cellular envelopes and the chorion of the egg. Egg shape alterations upon entry of the fertilizing sperm, which reflect the early phase of ooplasmic segregation, were monitored in intact and dechorionated eggs. The time course of normal development was recorded, and prominent stages were photographed within or deprived of the egg envelopes. The present observations are compared with recent accounts on early development in other solitary ascidian species.

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  1. Lehrstuhl für Spezielle Zoologie & Parasitologie, Arbeitsgruppe Entwicklungsphysiologie der Tiere, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Postfach 10 21 48, D-4630, Bochum, Federal Republic of Germany

    Eva Niermann-Kerkenberg & Dietrich Kurt Hofmann

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  1. Eva Niermann-Kerkenberg
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  2. Dietrich Kurt Hofmann
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Niermann-Kerkenberg, E., Hofmann, D.K. Fertilization and normal development inAscidiella aspersa (Tunicata) studied with Nomarski-optics. Helgolander Meeresunters 43, 245–258 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02367902

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Helgoland Marine Research

ISSN: 1438-3888

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