Spermatophore (redirected from Sperm packet)

spermatophore [spər′mad·ə‚fȯr]

(zoology)

A bundle or packet of sperm produced by certain animals, such as annelids, arthropods, and some vertebrates.

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Spermatophore 

in some animals, a capsule containing male sexual cells, or spermatozoa. Spermatophores serve to transport spermatozoa. They are characteristic of leeches, Pogo-nofora, cephalopods, some gastropods and amphibians, and many crustaceans, arachnids, myriopods, and insects.

A spermatophore’s structure and the way the spermatophore enters a female’s genital system vary. For example, in crustaceans, arachnids, and insects different extremities participate in the transport of spermatophores. In cephalopods the hectocoty-lus, one of the arms, usually transports spermatophores. The male grasps spermatophores with the hectocotylus and transfers them into the female’s mantle cavity. In some Octopoda a hectocotylus filled with spermatophores breaks away from the body of the male and floats to the female, inserting itself into the mantle cavity. Male tritons and salamanders attach spermatophores to objects; the spermatophores are then drawn in by the female’s cloaca.