INVESTIGADORES
LEIVA Pamela Maria De Lujan
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Lesions in phallus tissue of juveniles Caiman latirostris in captivity
Autor/es:
LEIVA, PAMELA MARIA DE LUJAN; MELINA S. SIMONCINI; BRANDON C. MOORE; MICAELA MAZARATTI; CARLOS I. PIÑA
Lugar:
CHETUMAL
Reunión:
Congreso; XXV Working Meeting CSG-UICN; 2022
Institución organizadora:
CSG
Resumen:
Main function of the intromittent phallus is to facilitate internal reproductionby allowing focused sperm delivery to the female reproductive tract. Therefore, phalliclesions could jeopardize the mechanics of copulation by interfering with male/femaletissues interactions and/or insemination, thus reducing an individual’s potentialfecundity. Our objective was to describe the morphology and frequency of malepenile lesions in juvenile Caiman latirostris hatched and raised in captivity for 2 years.We investigated three elements of crocodylian phallus anatomy that intromit into thefemale cloaca during copulation: the shaft, glans cuff, and glans tip in n=46 males(Average total length: ~1 m long). Sixteen (34.8%) presented phallic lesions (petechiae)on the dorsal or ventral shaft. Similar shaft lesions (petechiae) have been reportedon juveniles Alligator mississippiensis phalli, associated with herpes crocodile virusHV1. In order to better understand these infection-related lesions, in the future wemust perform a histological analysis to evaluate lymphoid aggregates presence andvirus detection with PCR. Of those 16 caiman, five also presented structural defectson the glans cuff, an inflatable structure that putatively produces a copulatory lockand seal during mating. The cause of these glans malformations may be related tointeractions with enclosure environment or damaging peer interactions. Potentialimpacts on husbandry and conservation will be discussed.