Reproductive Biology of the Brazilian Lancehead, <i>Bothrops moojeni</i> (Serpentes, Viperidae), from the State of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil

Almeida‐Santos, Selma Maria; Barros, Verônica Alberto; Rojas, César Alexander Ortiz; Sueiro, Letícia Ruiz; Nomura, Roberto Harutomi Corrêa

doi:10.2994/sajh-d-16-00047.1

Cited by 18 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…This suggests that mating in L. muta is seasonal, occurring during autumn and winter (Figure 8). This mating season pattern has also been observed in several Bothrops (Solórzanos & Cerdas, 1989;Almeida-Santos & Salomão, 2002;Valdujo et al, 2002;Monteiro et al, 2006;Nunes et al, 2010;Marques et al, 2013;Barros et al, 2014a,b;Almeida-Santos et al, 2017) and Crotalus (Barros et al, 2012). Four of the five vitellogenic females containing sperm in the reproductive tract were not close to ovulating.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

“…Considering the dissociation between mating and ovulation, oviductal sperm storage seems to be obligatory in female L. muta. Female sperm storage is a strategy shared by other New World pitvipers to ensure fertilization due to the dissociation of reproductive events (Almeida-Santos & Salomão, 1997Siegel & Sever, 2008;Barros et al, 2012;Barros et al, 2014a;Almeida-Santos et al, 2017;Silva et al, 2019). The occurrence of female sperm storage and autumn-winter mating season in L. muta suggests that these reproductive patterns are more widespread in viperids than previously thought.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reproduction in the bushmaster (Lachesis muta): Uterine muscular coiling and female sperm storage

Souza

Almeida‐Santos

2020

Acta Zoologica

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Prolonged sperm storage in the female reproductive tract is a widespread strategy among vertebrates. In reptiles, especially lizards and snakes, females have specialized structures to store sperm in their oviduct, which occur in the posterior infundibulum and the nonglandular uterus. Many viperids exhibit uterine muscular coiling (UMC) in the nonglandular uterus, and this modification has been proposed as an ancestral trait in this taxon to store sperm. However, UMC and oviductal sperm storage have not been reported in Lachesis. Here, we studied the reproductive tract of L. muta females using histological techniques and describe, for the first time, the occurrence of oviductal sperm storage and UMC in nonglandular uterus of this species. We also describe an increase in secretory activity in the oviduct throughout the reproductive cycle. Our results support the hypothesis that UMC is an ancestral character in Viperidae and suggest that female L. muta must store sperm in the oviduct to fertilize the oocytes. We also propose new hypotheses for reproductive strategies of L. muta in nature.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproduction in the bushmaster (Lachesis muta): Uterine muscular coiling and female sperm storage

Souza

Almeida‐Santos

2020

Acta Zoologica

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“…Their backs are usually in contact and sometimes partially intertwined (Carpenter & Ferguson, 1977). This pattern has been recorded in Crotalus (Langlada, 1975;Carpenter & Ferguson, 1977;Gillingham et al, 1983;Hayes, 1986;Almeida-Santos et al, 1990;Reed, 2003), Bothrops (Leloup, 1975;Almeida-Santos & Salomão, 2002;Almeida-Santos et al, 2017), and in species that perform dorsal tracking instead of trunk raising, such as Vipera, Sistrurus, and Bitis (Carpenter & Ferguson, 1977). Dominant and submissive behaviours among males may or may not occur before combat and courtship (Gillingham, 1983;Carpenter, 1984).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Dominant and submissive behaviour in the rattlesnake Crotalus durissus under semi-natural conditions

Batista¹

2021

Herpetological Bulletin

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“…Bothrops males have different strategies that allow for reproductive success. Larger males can guarantee copulation for victory in combat (Almeida-Santos et al, 2017) or leave a copulating plug in the female reproductive tract (Barros et al, 2017). It is possible that the extension of SSK hypertrophy over several months reflects that mating can also occur in several seasons.…”

Section: Seasonalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Morphology and seasonality of the sexual segment of the kidney in genus Bothrops snakes

Silva

Almeida‐Santos

Lobo

et al. 2021

Journal of Morphology

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In Squamata, the sexual segment of the male kidney (SSK) produces secretory granules that are transmitted to the female tract during copulation. Here, we investigate the morphology of SSK in various species of the pitviper-genus Bothrops, a medically relevant clade of Neotropical snakes, using histology, histochemistry, as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopy. We also evaluated the relationship of SSK hypertrophy with spermatogenesis and storage of sperm. The SSK in Bothrops consists of tall columnar epithelial cells filled with electron-dense secretory granules.These granules are apparently released into the lumen by an apocrine secretory process. In general, the ultrastructural morphology of SSK in Bothrops is similar to those described for other pitvipers in the genus Agkistrodon. In most Bothrops males, the SSK produces carbohydrates and proteins, and occurs in all lobes of the kidney, occupying most of the kidney mass. In contrast, intersexual females (with male copulatory organs) of Bothrops insularis had a smaller SSK diameter than males and did not show hypertrophy. The seasonal development of SSK in Bothrops species seems to be driven by environmental factors rather than phylogeny, since sister species exhibited periods of hypertrophy at different months. In most Bothrops males, hypertrophy occurs at various seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn), even in winter, and seasonal changes in SSK do not necessarily accompany spermatogenesis.

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Reproductive Biology of the Brazilian Lancehead, Bothrops moojeni (Serpentes, Viperidae), from the State of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil

Cited by 18 publications

References 21 publications

Reproduction in the bushmaster (Lachesis muta): Uterine muscular coiling and female sperm storage

Reproduction in the bushmaster (Lachesis muta): Uterine muscular coiling and female sperm storage

Dominant and submissive behaviour in the rattlesnake Crotalus durissus under semi-natural conditions

Morphology and seasonality of the sexual segment of the kidney in genus Bothrops snakes

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