The spermatozoa of the musk shrew, Suncus murinus, have a fan-like giant acrosome with a diameter of approximately 20 mm. The aim of this study was to investigate how this giant acrosome is constructed in the musk shrew spermatid and, in particular, how the Golgi apparatus involved in acrosome formation behaves. The behaviour of the Golgi apparatus was monitored by confocal laser scanning micro...

The external morphology of the papillae linguales (papillae filiformes, papillae fungiformes and papillae vallatae) and their connective tissue cores (CTCs) of the greater Japanese shrew-mole (Urotrichus talpoides) were analysed by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Papillae filiformes were distributed over the dorsal surface of the apex linguae, and on the rostral and caudal regions of ...

This study examined the fine structures of epididymal spermatozoa on the lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens), the Japanese white-toothed shrew (C. dsinezumi) and the big white-toothed shrew (C. lasiura) belonging to the subfamily Crocidurinae living in Korea. In the spermatozoa of C. suaveolens, the head has a large acrosome, a smooth inner acrosomal membrane and a wavy, finger-li...

bumblebee bat (Craseonycteris thonglongyai), both weighing on average less than 2 g, are the smallest extant mammals. A fossil record of an extinct shrew thought to weigh only 1.3 g was discovered recently (Bloch et al., 1998). The mean adult body mass of wild individuals of S. etruscus is 1.8 g. The species is found in Europe around the Mediterranean Sea and in Asia in a belt extending between...