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The Morphology of Male Gonads of the Neotenic Cave Salamander ( Proteus anguinus )
Author(s) -
Bizjak Mali Lilijana,
Bulog Boris
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.lb5
Subject(s) - biology , neoteny , cave , cloaca , salamander , sexual maturity , zoology , reproductive biology , amphibian , karst , reproductive system , obligate , anatomy , ecology , embryo , fishery , paleontology , embryogenesis
Proteus anguinus is a cave‐dwelling urodele amphibian that is endemic to underground waters in Dinaric karst regions of Central Europe. It is an obligate neotene, with a very long life span and late sexual maturity. The reproductive period is a‐seasonal and lasts at least 30 years with each female laying eggs at intervals of 6 ‐ 12.5 years. The objective of this study was to describe the morphology of the testes of Proteus for better understanding of the reproductive strategy of this neotenic cave amphibian with the long‐term goal of establishing a facility for captive breeding. The testes used for this research were removed from our permanent collection of archived specimens. At least three morphological forms of testes are present independent of the size of the specimens, most likely representing phases of maturation of the gonads. The internal histological structure the testis is a simple cystic type of cyts enclosed in lobules with synchronous maturation of the germ cells within each cyst. The development of cysts inside a particular lobule is either synchronous or asynchronous. Spermatogenesis progresses in caudo‐cephalic direction of the testis as well as in proximal‐distal direction in relation to internal collecting ducts and appears to be independent of the seasons of the year. We can conclude that the reproductive peculiarities in Proteus probably reflect the fact that it lives in a relatively stable habitat with environmental conditions that are conducive to a‐seasonal reproductive cycles, similar to tropical salamanders. This research was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Republic of Slovenia (P1–0184).