The male of Lecane bulla (Gosse, 1851): new support for the synonymy of Lecane Nitzsch, Monostyla Ehrenberg and Hemimonostyla BartosAE Author Segers, H. Laboratory of Animal Ecology, Zoogeography and Nature Conservation, Department of Biology, University of Ghent, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, B- 9000 Gent, Belgium; Hendrik.Segers@rug.ac.be Author Rico-Martinez, R. Universidad Autonoma de Aguascalientes, Centro de Ciencias Basicas, Av. Universidad 940, Aquascalientes, Ags, C. P. 20100, Mexico; RRICO@aqua.uaa.mx text Journal of Natural History 2000 2000-05-31 34 5 679 683 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/002229300299345 journal article 10.1080/002229300299345 1464-5262 5279685 Description of male Lecane bulla (figures 1, 2, 4) Body consists of three regions: a retractile head, trunk and foot. The head is short, and bears a simple, slightly oblique anterior corona and dorsal antenna (not drawn). A single large, red cerebral eye is present. The trunk is more or less cylindrical with a weakly developed lorica, separated in a ventral and dorsal plate, and pleural membranes with the apertures to the lateral antennae. The lorica plates are relatively soft hence easily distorted. The digestive system is vestigial. The single testicle is large, with two prostate glands. Dorsal to the testicle is a vesicle fi lled with glassy concretions. The foot is weakly bent ventrad and has four pseudosegments, the distal one the longest. The foot contains the penis and a ciliated vas deferens, the gonopore lies between the third and fourth foot pseudosegment. There are two completely separated and mobile toes bearing pseudoclaws and accessory claws. Measurements (in μ m, of a single fully extended specimen): total length 143, trunk length 68, height 38, width 49. Toes 22, pseudoclaws 5. Of corresponding female: dorsal plate length 141, width 109, ventral plate length 146, width 109, toe length 84, pseudoclaw length 21. Behaviour and reproduction No significant differences were observed between the swimming speed of male and female L. bulla , expressed either in BL s Õ 1 (male: 2.38, SD = 0.87, female: 1.57, SD = 0.73; n =10) or mm s Õ 1 (male: 0.43, SD = 0.17, female: 0.36, SD = 0.16; n = 10). Copulation occurs by penetration of the penis through the female integument of the pleural membrane. Only one resting egg is produced per female (figure 3), this egg is not deposited but remains inside the lorica of the female, which dies after production of the egg. The resting egg shell is thick and has an alveolar structure.