Gonad Morphology of the Hermaphroditic Fish Diplectrum pacificum (Serranidae)

Histological and gross examinations were conducted on the gonads of Diplectrum pacificum collected from the Bay of Panama. There is a single gonad which bifurcates into two ovarian lobes anteriorly. Posterior to the point of bifurcation the ovarian lobes combine to run medial to a broad ring of testicular tissue. Sperm enter into a dorsal sperm sinus, then enter a sperm duct. The sperm duct becomes closely aligned with the mesonephric duct to which it joins just prior to exit through an elongate papilla. Mature eggs enter a posterior ovarian sinus. The ovarian sinus bears numerous elongate ovarian folds which are villaelike and show a positive PAS reaction when many mature eggs are present in the sinus.