Meanings
nounspermatophylax (plural spermatophylaxes)
plural spermatophylaxes
- A nutritive bolus ejected by some male insects during copulation
Male decorated crickets Gryllodes sigillatus transfer a spermatophore to the female during copulation that is composed of an edible gift, the spermatophylax, and the ampulla that contains the ejaculate.
2015 October 7, “What’s in the Gift? Towards a Molecular Dissection of Nuptial Feeding in a Cricket”, in PLOS ONE, →DOI
Origin
Cite this entry
APA
spermatophylax. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spermatophylax
MLA
“spermatophylax.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spermatophylax. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “spermatophylax,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/spermatophylax.
Source: spermatophylax on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.