{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,9]],"date-time":"2026-09-09T15:35:40Z","timestamp":1788968140320,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":100,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,2]],"date-time":"2025-12-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1764633600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"University of Cagliari"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In male decapods, such as the Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus, sexual maturity is not easily determined by macroscopic examination of gonads and few studies have been conducted on this topic. Sexual maturity is linked to changes in both external morphology and physiology. This study analyzed the maturity of N. norvegicus males in the Central-Western Mediterranean Sea (Sardinia), focusing on primary sexual characteristics (testes and vasa deferentia) and morphometric traits (appendix masculina and petasma). Since the testes showed no macroscopic changes in size during ontogeny, histological analysis was performed. It revealed that spermatogenesis occurred year-round in the Sardinian population, with the smallest mature individual at 18.3 mm carapace length (CL). All individuals above 23.5 mm CL had testes and vasa deferentia filled with spermatozoa and were considered physiologically mature. Morphometric maturity was observed between 27.7 and 36.2 mm CL, based on appendix masculina and petasma measurements. Despite a close association, secondary sexual characteristic development and physiological maturity were not synchronized, as seen in other crustaceans. This discrepancy likely reflects differences in male reproductive strategies, as males may produce spermatophores at smaller sizes (e.g., 23.5 mm CL), though there is no evidence that such males can successfully inseminate females in the wild.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15233478","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,3]],"date-time":"2025-12-03T08:44:28Z","timestamp":1764751468000},"page":"3478","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Characterizing the Norway Lobster Nephrops norvegicus (L., Homarida: Decapoda) Maturity of Males in the Mediterranean Sea: Morphological and Physiological Aspects"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2649-6502","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cristina","family":"Porcu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Via T. Fiorelli 1, 09126 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2572-1432","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Noemi","family":"Pascale","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Sassari, Via San Pietro 43\/b, 07100 Sassari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9017-1692","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Bellodi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Via T. Fiorelli 1, 09126 Cagliari, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Integrated Marine Ecology, Calabria Marine Center, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (SZN), C.da Torre Spaccata, Localit\u00e0 Torre Spaccata, 87071 Amendolara, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2529-2535","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pierluigi","family":"Carbonara","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Fondazione COISPA, Via Trulli, 18-20, 70126 Bari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4082-7531","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alessandro","family":"Cau","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Via T. Fiorelli 1, 09126 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Riccardo","family":"Demurtas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Via T. Fiorelli 1, 09126 Cagliari, Italy"},{"name":"CoNISMa Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze Mare, Piazzale Flaminio 9, 00196 Rome, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1635-691X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonello","family":"Mulas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Via T. Fiorelli 1, 09126 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8320-9974","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Cristina","family":"Follesa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Via T. Fiorelli 1, 09126 Cagliari, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fishres.2006.06.003","article-title":"Estimation of the size of onset of sexual maturity in Nephrops norvegicus (L.)","volume":"81","author":"McQuaid","year":"2006","journal-title":"Fish. Res."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Stearns, S.C. (1992). 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