Análise morfológica e histológica do aparelho reprodutor de fêmeas da serpente suaçubóia (Corallus hortulanus, Squamata: boidae).

Abstract

Reproduction is part of the life cycle of animals allowing the perpetuation and conservation of species. Information on the reproductive cycle of Amazonian snakes is scarce, considering the great diversity of species, and most of the data obtained are from snakes in captivity. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the reproductive system of Corallus hortulanus females, from the observation of morphological and histological characters of the ovarian follicles, vagina and infundibulum. For this purpose, biometric data and tissue fragments were collected for histological analysis from 21 specimens. The reproductive cycle was estimated through the ratio of changes visualized in the morphology and histology of the gonads throughout the year, as described in the literature, where ovarian variations were observed, from the absence of follicles, when the snake is not yet reproductively mature, to the beginning of development with follicular enlargement varying in size and shape among the snakes studied. In this study, follicles in primary vitellogenesis measured from 1.47 to 7.8 mm and were observed throughout the year. The greatest follicular development observed in this study, presumably secondary vitellogenesis stage, was detected in the months of May and June, the period of the rainiest season, and was observed in females with body size of 1,480 mm, presenting ovarian follicles with sizes from 10.0 to 12.57 mm. The histological analysis was in line with what is already described for the species and did not detect the presence of spermatozoa. Although the results on the cycle of the females were not conclusive, the observation of follicular development in the months of May and June, compared to data available for the species, support the hypothesis of synchronicity between the cycles of males and females, requiring an increase in sample size. The results obtained in this study contribute to a greater understanding of the natural history and reproductive cycle of Amazonian females of C. hortulanus.