spermatheca

American  

[spur-muh-thee-kuh] / ˌspɜr məˈθi kə /

noun

Zoology.

• spermathecae
  plural

1. a small sac or cavity in female or hermaphroditic invertebrates used to store sperm for fertilizing eggs, as in the queen bee.

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spermatheca British  

/ ˌspɜːməˈθiːkə /

noun

1. a sac or cavity within the body of many female invertebrates, esp insects, used for storing spermatozoa before fertilization takes place

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spermatheca Scientific  

/ spûr′mə-thē′kə /

• spermathecae
  plural

1. A receptacle in the reproductive tracts of certain female invertebrates, especially insects, in which spermatozoa are received and stored until needed to fertilize the ova.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• spermathecal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• spermathecae
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of spermatheca

1820–30; sperma- (variant of spermato-, spermo- ) + theca

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spermatheca spermathecae

Some insects have a specialized sac, called a spermatheca, which stores sperm for later use, sometimes up to a year.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

"We don't yet know what allows sperm to migrate beyond the spermatheca," Cutter said, referencing the female organ where fertilization takes place.

From The Verge ● Jul. 29, 2014

These matriarchs were reproductively mature, but their spermatheca, chambers that store sperm postmating, remained bone dry, says Christian Rabeling, an evolutionary biologist at Harvard University and a co-author of one of the 2009 studies.

From Science Magazine ● Jul. 18, 2011

In the large cells this pressure would not take place, and the spermatheca would therefore not open.

From The Life of the Bee by Alfred Sutro

In Heliodrilus the blind extremity of the spermatheca is enclosed in a coelomic sac which is in connexion with the sacs envolving the ovaries and oviducts.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various

Or maybe they reach into the female’s secondary sperm-storage side-sacs, the spermathecae, to remove sperm, though they seem poorly located and insufficiently grabby for the task.

From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2011

These sacs are dealt with later under the description of the spermathecae, which function they appear to perform.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various

There are three pairs of spermathecae situated in segments III-V, a testis in V and an ovary in VI.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various

In the female there is in every fertile segment a pair of spermathecae opening at the nephridiopores.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 8 "Haller, Albrecht" to "Harmonium" by Various

A, Lumbricus: 9, 10, segments containing spermathecae, the orifices of which are indicated; 14, segment bearing oviducal pores; 15, segment bearing male pores; 32, 37, first and last segments of clitellum.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various

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