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Steroid-like substances have been found in invertebrates (see Lehoux & Sandor, 1970), and enzyme systems for steroid hormone biosynthesis have been demonstrated in tissues of various invertebrate species. More recently, the production of 11-oxotestosterone was observed during an incubation of sliced ovaries of the crab, Portunus trituberculatus, in the presence of exogenous progesterone as a precursor (Teshima & Kanazawa, 1970). These interesting findings prompted us to study the capability of the gonads of the intertidal Prosobranch Littorina littorea (L.) to metabolize progesterone. Animals obtained from Robin Hoods' Bay on the North York-shire coast were killed at the beginning of seasonal gonadal maturation. In L. littorea the follicles of the gonad and hepatopancreas are inseparable. The distal loop of the intestine, however, is discreet and was dissected out in each case. Ten male animals yielded 822 mg of tissue and 10 female animals 942 mg. The ratio of gonadal to hepatopancreatic
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