A Histological Study of Ovarian Development in the Giant Red Shrimp Aristaeomorpha foliacea (Crustacea: Decapoda: Aristeidae) from the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Western Mediterranean)

Table 3

Histological description of oocyte developmental stages in Aristaeomorpha foliacea.

Oogenic stage		Size (μm)	Histological description
	Oogonia (Og)	<10	Large, clear nucleus containing many strongly basophilic nucleoli, one of which is more evident. Cytoplasm barely visible.
	Early primary (Ep)	15–25	Large, clear nucleus containing chromatin clusters and filaments. Cytoplasm barely visible.
	Late primary (Lp)	25–85	Large, clear nucleus containing many peripheral nucleoli. Strongly basophilic cytoplasm.
Oocytes	Early vitellogenic (Ev)	90–300	Rectangular in section. Round, central nucleus, with flattened nucleoli leaned against the nuclear envelope. Cytoplasm filled with lipid vesicles. Eosinophilic, yolk granules form a ring around the nucleus.
	Late vitellogenic (Lv)	200–350	Rectangular in section. Small, central nucleus. Cytoplasm filled with lipid vesicles and yolk granules.
	Post-vitellogenic (Pv)	350–470	Nucleus no longer visible. Cytoplasm filled with yolk granules and lipid vesicles. Slightly eosinophilic, columnar cristae protruding into the outer cytoplasmic cortex.
	Atresic (Ao)	—	As Lp oocytes, showing massive vacuolization of cytoplasm.