SPERM ABNORMALITIES IN SILVER FOX (VULPES-VULPES) SEMEN SELECTED FOR ARTIFICIAL-INSEMINATION

Sperm morphology was examined in fresh ejaculates accepted for insemin ation. The material included 161 ejaculates of 36 male silver foxes. S amples were fixed, stained with eosin/nigrosin and evaluated microscop ically. The abnormal spermatozoa were categorized by the location of t he defect. The mean (+/- SD) percentage of morphologically normal sper matozoa was 87.55 +/- 10.45. The incidence of sperm defects was low an d variation high in all defect classes. Defects of tails of spermatozo a accounted for > 50% of the abnormalities found. Morphological qualit y did not correlate with the volume of the sperm-rich fraction, mass a ctivity, progressive motility, or total sperm count in ejaculates of a cceptable sperm quality. The incidence and effects of morphological de fects in low-quality semen remain to be studied.