A spermatophore or sperm ampulla

Ampulla

An ampulla was, in Ancient Rome, a "small nearly globular flask or bottle, with two handles" . The word is used of these in archaeology, and of later flasks, often handle-less and much flatter, for holy water or holy oil in the Middle Ages....

 is a capsule or mass created by males of various animal

Animal

Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...

 species, containing spermatozoa and transferred in entirety to the female's ovipore

Ovipore

An ovipore is a pore-like sexual organ of a female insect that gets inseminated by the spermatophores ejected by the aedeagus of a male insect during copulation. The spermatophores that pass through the ovipore are stored in most insect species in another organ called spermatheca....

  during copulation. It may contain nourishment for the female, in which case it is called a nuptial gift, although in many species the "gift" provides little nutrient value (one group in which it usually is nutritious are the bush crickets

Tettigoniidae

The family Tettigoniidae, known in American English as katydids and in British English as bush-crickets, contains more than 6,400 species. It is part of the suborder Ensifera and the only family in the superfamily Tettigonioidea. They are also known as long-horned grasshoppers, although they are...

). The alternative hypothesis of its usefulness is that the process of eating the spermatophore prevents the female from subsequent copulation, thereby giving the male's sperm more time to fertilize.

Invertebrates

Spermatophores are the norm in arachnid

Arachnid

Arachnids are a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals in the subphylum Chelicerata. All arachnids have eight legs, although in some species the front pair may convert to a sensory function. The term is derived from the Greek words , meaning "spider".Almost all extant arachnids are terrestrial...

s. In various insects, such as bush crickets

Tettigoniidae

The family Tettigoniidae, known in American English as katydids and in British English as bush-crickets, contains more than 6,400 species. It is part of the suborder Ensifera and the only family in the superfamily Tettigonioidea. They are also known as long-horned grasshoppers, although they are...

, the spermatophore is often surrounded by a proteonaceous spermatophylax

Spermatophylax

A spermatophylax is a gelatinous bolus which some male insects eject during copulation with females through their aedeagi together with spermatophores, and which functions as a nutritive addition for the female....

. The function of the spermatophylax is to cause the female to relinquish some of her control over the insemination process allowing full sperm transfer from the spermatophore.

Vertebrates

Some vertebrates also reproduce via spermatophores. Males of many salamander

Salamander

Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...

 and newt

Newt

A newt is an aquatic amphibian of the family Salamandridae, although not all aquatic salamanders are considered newts. Newts are classified in the subfamily Pleurodelinae of the family Salamandridae, and are found in North America, Europe and Asia...

species create spermatophores, which the females may choose to take up or not, depending on the success of the male's mating display.