Ejaculates of 14 colony-bred and 14 wild-caught vervet monkeys were ex
amined for morphologically abnormal sperm. Sperm head abnormalities we
re rare in both groups, occurring at rates of 0.01-0.29%. Tail abnorma
lities predominated, particularly bent midpieces and coiled and folded
tails, which all occurred at rates of 3.79-17.18%. Except for the nip
ple acrosome, there was no difference in the rate at which sperm abnor
malities were found in both groups. Three abnormalities were found onl
y in colony-bred and three only in wild-caught individuals. Some commo
n abnormalities, all affecting the tail, were highly variable in conse
cutive ejaculates from the same individuals.