Meiosis

Meiosis is how haploid sex cells, or gametes, are made. This type of cellular division occurs in two consecutive divisions known as meiosis I and meiosis II. The resulting daughter cells have half the number of chromosomes than the diploid somatic cells. During meiosis I, crossing over occurs, creating new combinations of chromosomes. This contributes to the genetic diversity of the offspring.

The image on this page shows sperm cells from a crane-fly in differing stages of meiosis. Now that you have learned about meiosis can you determine what phase each cell is in?