Panulirus polyphagus or mud spiny lobster is a species of crustacean that lives on shallow rocky reefs and muddy substrates in the tropical Indo-Pacific region and it is a profitable and costly fisheries commodity in Indonesia1. But, conventional breeding techniques lead towards less survival chances of larva which is the main issue of mud spiny lobster. Moreover it is complicated task to maintain the pueruli stage till adult2,3.
As far as the reproductive system of mud spiny lobster is concerned; it is extended outside the cephalothorax, lies on the hepatopancreas and elongates longitudinally at both sides of the median body plane. The male reproductive system consists of paired testes, vas deferentia and ejaculatory ducts4. Moreover; it is reported that the testes are tubular organs in the anterior region of the body that extend along the sides of the stomach which are long, highly convoluted tubes and attached medially by a transversal commissure similar to H-shape in histology studies5. Therefore, it is not an easy job to evaluate male lobster maturity in the field6 as compared to female lobster. Usually, their size of maturity (SOM) is evaluated by plotting the size of walking legs against carapace length (CL) for both, mature and immature lobsters7.
In this regard, Siti Nor Fatihah and team conducted a research to examine the histological attributes on the testes and sexual maturity sizes of Panulirus polyphagus. In this experiment, scientists dissected the testes and fixed them in 10% buffered formalin solution for 11 h, dehydrated in 70% alcohol and lastly placed in tissue processor for 18±1 h at 60°C. The tissues blocks were incised at the thickness of 4 μm on a rotary microtome. Stained tissues were observed under Advance Microscope (Nikon Eclipse 80i Nomarski DIC). Moreover, Microsoft Excel 2013 was used to analyze the collected data and statistical analysis was carried out through one-way ANOVA using SPSS (Version 22).
The outcomes of this investigation exhibited that male P. polyphagus at 452 g BW and 107 mm CL or more can be considered to have fully mature testes; prepared for fertilization. Scientists noted the four stages of spermatogenesis process during the testes maturation phases: Spermatogonia I and II, spermatocytes I and II, spermatids and spermatozoa (sperm). Yet, deep investigation is required for ample knowledge about testes maturation stages of male P. polyphagus. Expectantly, these findings will contribute for the future biological researches through breeding technology, fishery conservation and management of P. polyphagus especially in Malaysia as well as globally.
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