a paired organ of male insects, used to clasp the female during copulation
2.
a paired organ of male sharks and related fish, used to assist the transfer of spermatozoa into the body of the female during copulation
Examples of 'claspers' in a sentence
claspers
The functional morphology of the male claspers was studied in detail by close-up video recordings.
Zandra M. S. Sigvardt, Jørgen Olesen 2014, 'Mating Behaviour in Laevicaudatan Clam Shrimp (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) and FunctionalMorphology of Male Claspers in a Phylogenetic Context: A Video-Based Analysis', PLoS ONE10.1371/journal.pone.0084021. Retrieved from PLOS CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
This involves the 135° to 180° rotation of claspers, which are tipped with claws.
Jacek W. Zawada, Yael L. Dahan-Moss, Mbanga Muleba, Roch K. Dabire, Hamid Maïga, NeliusVenter, Craig Davies, Richard H. Hunt, Maureen Coetzee, Lizette L. Koekemoer 2018, 'Molecular and physiological analysis of Anopheles funestus swarms in Nchelenge, Zambia',Malaria Journalhttp://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12936-018-2196-6. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)
The shapes of their claspers are also different.
Italo A. Sherlock 1962, 'Sôbre alguns Phlebotomus e Brumptomyia da Colômbia (Diptera, Psychodidae)', Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0074-02761962000300004. Retrieved from DOAJ CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode)