A Histological Study of Ovarian Development in the Giant Red Shrimp Aristaeomorpha foliacea (Crustacea: Decapoda: Aristeidae) from the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Western Mediterranean)
Figure 6
Ovarian maturity stages of Aristaeomorpha foliacea (haematoxylin-eosin). (a) Immature ovary (stage 1); (b) recovering ovary (stage 2b), showing distinct germinative (g) and maturative (m) zones, the latter populated by late primary oocytes organized into tubule-like structural units. (c) Maturing ovary (stage 2c) populated by early vitellogenic oocytes, among which small germinative islets (g) can be seen. (d) Mature ovary (stage 2d) populated by late vitellogenic oocytes creating a mosaic structure. g: germinative islets. (e) Spent ovary (stage 2e) containing a residual post-vitellogenic oocyte (Pv), besides degenerating late primary oocytes displaying severe vacuolization of the cytoplasm (e’). Proliferation and hypertrophy of mesodermal cells (asterisk) are also evident.
