Embryonic staging system for the short‐tailed fruit bat, Carollia perspicillata, a model organism for the mammalian order Chiroptera, based upon timed pregnancies in captive‐bred animals

Abstract

There are approximately 4,800 extant species of mammals that exhibit tremendous morphological, physiological, and developmental diversity. Yet embryonic development has been studied in only a few mammalian species. Among mammals, bats are second only to rodents with regard to species number and habitat range and are the most abundant mammals in undisturbed tropical regions. Bat development, though, remains relatively unstudied. Here, we describe and illustrate a staging series of embryonic development for the short-tailed fruit bat, Carollia perspicillata, based on embryos collected at timed intervals after captive matings. As Carollia can be readily maintained and propagated in captivity and is extremely abundant in the wild, it offers an attractive choice as a chiropteran model organism. This staging system provides a framework for studying Carollia embryogenesis and should prove useful as a guide for embryological studies of other bat species and for comparisons with other orders of mammals. Developmental Dynamics 233:721-738, 2005.

A second wave of Sonic hedgehog expression during the development of the bat limb

“…If indeed wings evolved once within the Chiroptera, this sequence change should be conserved across diverse bat species. (7,8,10,11). The samples were collected and exported with the permission of the Wildlife Section, Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.…”

“…Whereas the early mouse limb buds and the bat hindlimb bud initially are symmetrical across the A-P axis, the bat forelimb autopod begins to lose this symmetry as early as stage 15 of development (CS 15), because of the expansion of the posterior autopod relative to the anterior autopod ( Fig. 1B and C compared with A, and F and G compared with E) (7). Following this initial expansion, the chondrocytes in the posterior digits of the bat forelimb autopod undergo accelerated proliferation and differentiation when compared with developing digits of the bat hindlimb and the mouse (8).…”

Interdigital webbing retention in bat wings illustrates genetic changes underlying amniote limb diversification

“…In bats, this tissue forms in a very different manner than the chiropatagium. The plagiopatagium grows out from the flank starting at stage 14 (9). At stage 17, the plagiopatagium has begun to connect to the proximal portion of digit V of the forelimb.…”

“…We examined the expression of Bmp genes before (stage 16) and at the start of (stage 17) hindlimb interdigit regression (9). At stage 16, Bmp2 is expressed throughout the hindlimb interdigits ( Fig.…”

Embryonic Staging System for the Black Mastiff Bat,Molossus rufus(Molossidae), Correlated With Structure‐Function Relationships in the Adult

“…The broad, deep jaws of M. rufus are readily apparent by stage 20 (and less so at earlier stages). The craniofacial structure of C. perspicillata, a frugivore, at comparable stages does not exhibit either the broadness of the snout or the welding of the snout to the forehead that gives M. rufus embryo crania their robust, tear-drop shapes (cf., Cretekos et al, 2005). Instead, at stage 20, C. perspicillata snouts are barrelshaped and do not extend laterally much beyond the medial border of the eyes when viewed ventrally.…”