GIANT, ACCORDIONED SPERM ACROSOMES OF THE GREATER BULLDOG BAT, NOCTILIO-LEPORINUS

Sperm of the greater bulldog bat Noctilio leporinus display an archite cture that is totally unique among mammalian spermatozoa. The sperm he ad of Noctilio is extraordinarily large and flat and lies eccentricall y with respect to the sperm tail. The major portion of the atypically large acrosome lies anterior to the nucleus and is shaped into a dozen accordionlike folds that run parallel to the long axis of the sperm. The ridge of each fold is shaped into similar to 60 minute, evenly spa ced rises that extend along the entire length of the fold. We speculat e that acrosome ridges may serve to strengthen the sperm head during t ransport. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.