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| The reproduction organ of the bdelloid rotifers is the germovitellarium. In contrast to the monogonont rotifers the bdelloid rotifers have two, which gives them their other name: Digononta |
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| This image of a heavily compressed specimen of Adineta shows the two germovitellaria. The arrows point to the nuclei of the ovary. While the number of the nuclei in the ovary is normally 8 in most bdelloid species there are also exceptions, like in this specimen where the number is 12. The arrowheads in the lower right germovitellarium point to the nuclei of the (syncytial) vitellarium, the number of which is also 8 in most species (with exceptions, for example in Scepanotrocha or Adineta gracilis, which may have only 4 nuclei). For the documentation of the number of nuclei it is essential to focus through the whole specimen to gather the information about all nuclei! |
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| Rotifers can be stained with Neutral Red keeping them alive for a certain time to make their morphology better visible. The dye shows that there are unambigously only 4 nuclei in the vitellarium of Adineta gracilis |
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