page_title: Gonopod
hierarchical_section_title: Gonopod
caption_attribution_description: English: Left male gonopod of Oxidus gracilis. Mesal view, anterior to the left. False color scanning electron micrograph. Pale green, gonocoxa; Green, solenomerite; Yellow, prefemur; Pale blue, base of the telopodite; Red, tibiotarsus; Blue, femoral process; Violet, solenophore. Scale bar: 200 μm (0.2 mm or approx. 1/127 in)
context_page_description: Gonopods are specialized appendages of various arthropods used in reproduction or egg-laying. In males, they facilitate the transfer of sperm from male to female during mating, and thus are a type of intromittent organ. In crustaceans and millipedes, gonopods are modified walking or swimming legs. Gonopods may be highly decorated with elaborate structures which may play roles in sperm competition, and can be used to differentiate and identify closely related species. Gonopods generally occur in one or more pairs, as opposed to the single reproductive organs such as the aedeagus of insects or the penis of harvestmen.
context_section_description: Gonopods are specialized appendages of various arthropods used in reproduction or egg-laying. In males, they facilitate the transfer of sperm from male to female during mating, and thus are a type of intromittent organ. In crustaceans and millipedes, gonopods are modified walking or swimming legs. Gonopods may be highly decorated with elaborate structures which may play roles in sperm competition, and can be used to differentiate and identify closely related species. Gonopods generally occur in one or more pairs, as opposed to the single (un-paired) reproductive organs such as the aedeagus of insects or the penis of harvestmen.
caption: One of two gonopods of the greenhouse millipede (Oxidus gracilis). Scale bar: 0.2 mm or approximately 1/127 in
exif: {}