Corallus hortulanus testes histology: morphological and reproductive aspects

Abstract

Abstract In general snakes show differentiate anatomical, biological and behavioral particularities compared to other species. Basic information about the snakes anatomy, physiology and reproductive biology is scarce in several species, making the reproduction a challenge. Thus, the present work aims to evaluate morphological aspects of the Corallus hortulanus testes, correlating these findings with environmental factors and reproductive aspects. The testes of three specimens of Corallus hortulanus were cut to a thickness of 3μm in microtome, stained with 1% toluidine blue, photo documented and described. Seasonality was observed in the sperm production of Corallus hortulanus, with the presence of mature spermatozoa in the wettest and hottest periods of the year, as well as the largest testicular volume in these periods.

Keywords

• snake
• reproduction
• spermatogenesis
• testicular morphometry