ABSTRACT
In spite of its importance as a major fishing resource in Northeastern Brazil, little is known regardingthe reproductive biology of the spiny lobster. The present study describes the macroscopic morphologyand scanning electron microscopic (SEM) structure of the ovaries of the species Panulirus argus, P.laevicauda and P. echinatus. The morphological study included the parameters developmental stage, colorand surface texture. With samples fixed in Bouin and Karnovsky solution, SEM analyses identified fourdistinct stages (I. immature, II. prematuration, III. mature, IV. spawning/resorption) as well as changesin the organization of the somatic (fibrous tissue) and germinative (oocytes) components at each stage. AtStage I, ovaries consist of nodes or cysts and are lined with thick fibrous components which tend to distendtoward Stage III. The oocytes are rounded and the nucleus/cytoplasm ratio decreases as the cells growlarger and move towards the periphery. As the first SEM-aided description of Panulirus ovaries, the presentstudy represents a contribution to our understanding of the tridimensional organization of the ovariancomponents at different stages of maturation and sheds new light on the changes which occur during thematuration process of spiny lobsters.