In nematodes, spicules, also known as copulatory spicules, are needle-like mating structures found only in males.
Male nematodes may have one or two spicules which serve to open the vulva of females and facilitate the transmission of sperm, although sperm is not transferred directly by or through the spicules. The gubernaculum is another organ of the nematode male copulatory system which guides the spicules during copulation.
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Caenorhabditis elegans (/ˌsiːnoʊræbˈdaɪtəs ˈɛləɡæns/) is a free-living transparent nematode about 1 mm in length that lives in temperate soil environments. It is the type species of its genus. The name is a blend of the Greek caeno- (recent), rhabditis (rod-like) and Latin elegans (elegant). In 1900, Maupas initially named it Rhabditides elegans. Osche placed it in the subgenus Caenorhabditis in 1952, and in 1955, Dougherty raised Caenorhabditis to the status of genus.
C. elegans is an unsegmented pseudocoelomate and lacks respiratory or circulatory systems. Most of these nematodes are hermaphrodites and a few are males. Males have specialised tails for mating that include spicules.