Gubernaculum (nematode anatomy)

In nematodes, the gubernaculum is a hardened or sclerotized structure in the wall that guides the protrusion of the spicule during copulation.^[1] For example, in Caenorhabditis elegans, spicules serve to open and dilate the vagina of the hermaphrodite and the gubernaculum is a grooved plate in which the spicules move; the gubernaculum is controlled by two erector and two protractor muscles.^[1]

Posterior end of a male nematode, Gongylonema pulchrum, showing right spicule and gubernaculum

Drawings of a male philometrid nematode - E and F represent the gubernaculum

The shape and size of the gubernaculum are often important characters for the systematics of nematodes.^[2]

References

1. Bird, Alan; Bird, Jean (1991). The structure of nematodes. San Diego: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-099651-0.
2. Chitwood, Benjamin Goodwin; Chitwood, May Belle Hutson (1937). Introduction to Nematology (Vol. 1). doi:10.5962/bhl.title.7355.