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The Female Reproductive Cycle of the Neotropical Snake A tractus pantostictus (Fernandes and Puorto, 1993) from South‐eastern Brazil
Author(s) -
Resende F. C.,
Nascimento L. B.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
anatomia, histologia, embryologia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.34
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1439-0264
pISSN - 0340-2096
DOI - 10.1111/ahe.12132
Subject(s) - fossorial , biology , vitellogenesis , reproductive cycle , reproductive biology , sperm , zoology , sexual maturity , reproduction , mating , andrology , ecology , fishery , medicine , botany , embryo , oocyte , embryogenesis
Summary Data on reproductive activity of fossorial species are limited because the specimens are difficult to be observed and captured. Here in, we present the reproductive cycle of female A tractus pantostictus , a fossorial neotropical species, and the sexual maturity of males and females in south‐eastern Brazil. The female reproductive cycle of A . pantostictus is seasonal, with vitellogenic follicles being found from September to April and eggs in November, February, March and April with the number varying between two and four. Spermatozoa were found in the lumen of the glandular and non‐glandular uterus in females collected during the rainy season. Sperm storage tubules were found in the posterior infundibulum of the females, where the storage of sperm occurs for a short time. The storage may occur because mating and ovulation are dissociated.