Reproductive Biology of the Fossorial Snake Apostolepis gaboi (Elapomorphini): A Threatened and Poorly Known Species from the Caatinga Region

Braz, Henrique B.; Kasperoviczus, Karina N.; Guedes, Thaís B.

doi:10.2994/sajh-d-17-00116.1

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Female snakes store sperm in two portions of their oviducts: the posterior infundibulum and uterus (Siegel et al 2011). Sperm storage has been reported in some Neotropical snakes, for example Crotalus durissus, Apostolepis gaboi, Philodryas patagoniensis, and Erythrolamprus miliaris (Almeida-Santos & Salomão 1997, Rojas et al 2015, Braz et al 2019. Microscopic examination of the oviducts can confirm sperm storage in female B. sertaneja (see Almeida-Santos et al 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Studies on reproductive biology (which include reproductive cycles of both sexes, fecundity, sexual dimorphism, and reproductive behavior) are crucial to understand the biology of any species and an important tool to define conservation strategies, especially to threatened species (Shine & Bonnet 2009, Braz et al 2019. Much of what is known about reproductive biology of snakes is the result of studies of species from temperate regions (e.g., Shine 1977, 1980, 1985, Siegel et al 2011.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Notes on court and copula, fertility, nest, eggs and hatchlings of the Caatinga’s black snake Boiruna sertaneja Zaher, 1996 (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) from northeastern Brazil

Guedes

2020

An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.

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The Caatinga's black snake Boiruna sertaneja is a Pseudoboini species, endemic of the Caatinga biome. It is rare and fits in five traits that suggest it deserve more attention in reproduction research and conservation policies. Here we provide information on reproductive biology of B. sertaneja by adding new data about court and copula, fertility, nest, eggs and hatchling morphometry and pattern of color based on captivity specimens. The court and copula, as well as oviposition of B. sertaneja in the Caatinga are associated to period of high temperature and dry season. Our findings indicate that females of B. sertaneja, in nature, could select protected places or actively build their nests. We recorded three oviposture after a single event of copula by the female of B. sertaneja. The long time gap between copula and clutches strongly suggests that female B. sertaneja can store sperm in their oviducts for long periods or do facultative parthenogenesis. Clutch size and hatchling size of B. sertaneja was high.We observed variation on the pattern of coloration among hatchlings of same litter. This study comprises the first description of important aspects of reproduction and can give us some clues about how B. sertaneja reproduce in nature.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Notes on court and copula, fertility, nest, eggs and hatchlings of the Caatinga’s black snake Boiruna sertaneja Zaher, 1996 (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) from northeastern Brazil

Guedes

2020

An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.

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“…The invaginations have been referred to as “crypts” or “sacs” in various lizards, for example, in the Podarcis sicula (synonym: Lacerta sicula ) (Botte, 1973b), Sceloporus bicanthalis (Guillette & Jones, 1985; Villagrán‐Santacruz et al, 2017), Sceloporus aeneus (Guillette & Jones, 1985), Keeled Earless Lizard ( Holbrookia propinqua ; Adams & Cooper, 1988), and Lepidodactylus lugubris (Saint‐Girons, 1962). Variants of these grooves or crypts have been variously described and referred to as branched tubular glands in Hemidactylus mabouia (Nogueira et al, 2011), alveolar glands in Hoplodactylus maculatus (Girling et al, 1997), or plain “glands” in H. duvaucelii , Hemidactylus turcicus , Saltuarius wyberba , in the black swamp snake, Seminatrix pygaea (Sever & Ryan, 1999), Sphenomorphus fragilis (Guillette, 1992), in the fossorial snake, Apostolepis gaboi (Braz et al, 2019), Amerotyphlops brongersmianus (Khouri et al, 2020), and the Amazonian lancehead, Bothrops atrox (Silva et al, 2020). It is generally agreed that the epithelium of these crypts is columnar and comprises ciliated and nonciliated cells, as found in the lining epithelium of the oviduct.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Variants of these grooves or crypts have been variously described and referred to as branched tubular glands in Hemidactylus mabouia (Nogueira et al, 2011), alveolar glands in Hoplodactylus maculatus (Girling et al, 1997), or plain "glands" in H. duvaucelii, Hemidactylus turcicus, Saltuarius wyberba, in the black swamp snake, Seminatrix pygaea (Sever & Ryan, 1999), Sphenomorphus fragilis (Guillette, 1992), in the fossorial snake, Apostolepis gaboi (Braz et al, 2019), Amerotyphlops brongersmianus (Khouri et al, 2020), and the Amazonian lancehead, Bothrops atrox (Silva et al, 2020). It is generally agreed…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The ultrastructural features of the infundibulum of the green iguana, Iguana iguana

Harrylal,

Lensink,

Gupta

et al. 2023

Journal of Morphology

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The purpose of this study is to describe, in detail, the ultrastructure of the infundibulum of the sexually mature and active female green iguana, Iguana iguana. The infundibulum of five iguanas was remarkably distinct from the uterus, and was also clearly demarcated into cranial (expanded v‐shaped) and caudal (tubular) divisions. Tissue samples obtained from five portions (three from the cranial division and two from the caudal division) of the infundibulum were processed conventionally for light and electron microscopy. The epithelial lining of the most anterior, middle, and posterior, parts of the cranial division displayed nonciliated cells predominantly, and occasionally ciliated cells. The numerous secretory granules in nonciliated type 1 cell found in the fimbrial aspect of the infundibulum were homogenous and deeply electron‐dense, but those in the other two regions were variants of this cell type because they contained variably electron‐dense secretory granules. Two main types of nonciliated cells (type 2 and its variant, type 3, as well as type 4) occurred in the epithelial lining of the caudal division of the infundibulum, but they, clearly, showed no dense secretory granules. Whereas the nonciliated type 2 cell and its variant (type 3 cell) contained large glycogen deposits, the type 4 cell lacked these deposits but its apical part contained large lipid‐like droplets and, remarkably, blebbed into the duct lumen. The nonciliated cells lining the mucosal tubular glands contained highly electron‐dense secretory granules, which were similar to those found in the nonciliated type 1 cell in the epithelial lining of the fimbrial part of the cranial division of the infundibulum.

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“…In females, we recorded (1) the gross morphology of the right infundibulum, glandular uterus, and nonglandular uterus, (2) the number of ovarian follicles, and (3) the diameter (at the longitudinal axis) of the largest follicle (using a Mitutoyo manual caliper; to the nearest 0.02 mm). Because we found no gravid females (see Results), we estimated clutch size by counting the number of ovarian vitellogenic follicles (Almeida-Santos et al, 2014;Braz et al, 2019). Thus, we treated this estimate as potential clutch size.…”

Section: Macroscopic Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive ecology of the Amaral's Blind Snake Trilepida koppesi in an area of Cerrado in south-eastern Brazil

Khouri¹

2022

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Studies on reproductive biology have largely contributed to the understanding of snake ecology. However, detailed reproductive data are scarce for many groups, particularly blind snakes. Here, we describe the reproductive biology of Trilepida koppesi (Leptotyphlopidae), a widely distributed species in the savannas of south-central Brazil. We describe its macro- and microscopic reproductive anatomy, female reproductive cycle, potential clutch size, seasonal activity, and sexual dimorphism of a population from south-eastern Brazil. Males have plurilobulated testes. Spermiogenesis occurs in early spring (October), when gonads and kidneys show a textured surface, the sexual segment of the kidney is hypertrophied, and the ductus deferentia are opaque and packed with sperm. Females have only the right oviduct, which shows developed epithelium and uterine glands in spring. Mating likely occurs in spring (October–December), and females store sperm in infundibular receptacles until ovulation between late spring and early summer. Potential clutch size ranges from three to five eggs. Females grow larger than males. The synchrony between spermiogenesis and mating defines the male cycle as prenuptial, which is considered the ancestral state of Squamata. These results agree with the hypothesis of conservative parameters for the group.

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Reproductive Biology of the Fossorial Snake Apostolepis gaboi (Elapomorphini): A Threatened and Poorly Known Species from the Caatinga Region

Cited by 8 publications

References 51 publications

Notes on court and copula, fertility, nest, eggs and hatchlings of the Caatinga’s black snake Boiruna sertaneja Zaher, 1996 (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) from northeastern Brazil

Notes on court and copula, fertility, nest, eggs and hatchlings of the Caatinga’s black snake Boiruna sertaneja Zaher, 1996 (Serpentes: Dipsadidae) from northeastern Brazil

The ultrastructural features of the infundibulum of the green iguana, Iguana iguana

Reproductive ecology of the Amaral's Blind Snake Trilepida koppesi in an area of Cerrado in south-eastern Brazil

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