A 621-species evolutionary analysis finds that arthropods repeatedly gained and lost five forms of sperm grouping, while the function of those cellular teams remains unsettled.
We picture fertilization as millions of sperm racing alone. But a 2026 study found that arthropods have repeatedly evolved sperm that travel in pairs, chains and teams of hundreds or even thousands — a form of cellular cooperation dating back roughly 500 million years.
Lachlan Brown