University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository

Biology Faculty Publications Biology

6-1988 Histology of the Ovaries and Fat Bodies of Chthonerpeton indistinctum Rafael O. de Sá University of Richmond, [email protected]

Nibia Berois

Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/biology-faculty-publications Part of the Biology Commons, Other Sciences Commons, and the Zoology Commons

Recommended Citation Berois, Nibia, and Rafael de Sá. "Histology of the Ovaries and Fat Bodies of Chthonerpeton indistinctum." Journal of Herpetology 22, no. 2 (June 1988): 146-51. doi:10.2307/1563993.

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Biology at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Biology Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. fournal of Herpetology, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 146-151, 1988 Copyright 1988 Societv for the Study of and Reptiles

Histology of the Ovaries and Fat Bodies of Ch thonerpeton indistinctum

NIBIA BEROIS1 AND RAFAEL DE SA2

'Departamento de Biologfa Celular, Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias, Universidad Mayor de la Republica Oriental de/ Uruguay, Tristan Narvaja 1674, Montevideo, Uruguay, and 'Museum of Natural History and Department of Systematics and Ecology, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045-2454, USA

ABSTRACT. - Histological analysis revealed three different stages in the development of ovarian follicles of Chthonerpeton indistinctum. These stages are identified by (1) location of the oocyte in the ovary wall, (2) oocyte morphology and staining characteristics, (3) development of the zona pellucida, and (4) orga­ nization of the follicular layer. Atretic follicles and corpora lutea also were found. Fat bodies are composed of well-developed adipose tissue.

The family in­ MATERIALS AND METHODS cludes 19 aquatic, viviparous species. Aside Specimens were collected in April and from Taylor's monograph on Gymno­ May 1983, from beneath mats of aquatic phiona (1968) and the work done on Typh­ vegetation (particularly Eichornia crassipes) lonectes compressicauda by Exbrayat (1983), deposited by a flood along the shore of the Exbrayat and Collenot (1983), Exbrayat et Rio de la Plata estuary in the Departamento al. (1981, 1982) and Delsol et al. (1981), de Montevideo (Playas Pocitos, Malvin, little information is available on the re­ Carrasco and Pajas Blancas) and Departa­ productive biology of this family. Lieber­ mento de San Jose (Playa Pascual), Uru­ man (1939) and Barrio (1969) described guay. The origin of these specimens prior some aspects of the reproductive behavior to the flooding is unknown. The specimens of Chthonerpeton indistinctum (Reinhardt and used in this study were preserved in 10% Lutken, 1862). Histological aspects of the formalin. Part of the collection (lot number oviducts of this species were studied by ZVC-B 2027) was deposited in the am­ Welsch et al. (1977), and de Sa and Berois phibian collection of the Departamento de (1986) studied the spermatogenesis. Ovar­ Zoologia-Vertebrados, Facultad de Hu­ ian morphology and histology were de­ manidades y Ciencias, Universidad Mayor scribed by Wake (1968, 1977) for several de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay, species of , but histological data Montevideo, and the rest are maintained for Chthonerpeton were not included. Clas­ in the private collection of one of the au­ sification of ovarian eggs in caecilians has thors (RDS). been based on egg sizes (Wake, 1977; Ex­ For histological description, ovary brayat and Collenot, 1983). samples were double embedded in celloi­ Review papers dealing with the ovary of din-paraffin (Ganter and Jolles, 1970), sec­ nonmammalian vertebrates, such as those tioned at 5 µm and stained with PAS-He­ in the volume by Jones (1978) and Wallace matoxylin (red) and alochrom (blue) (Lillie, (1983), base their presentations on the am­ 1954). The fat bodies were embedded and phibian ovary from work done on anurans stained as described for the ovaries. Sec­ or urodeles only. In this paper, we present tions were photographed using a Vanox a histological analysis of the ovary and fat model microscope. bodies of C. indistinctum. It was found that follicular development may be staged ac­ cording to histological characteristics and RESULTS preliminary information on atretic folli­ The ovaries of Chthonerpeton indistinctum cles is reported. are elongate, sac-like, paired organs, lateral

This content downloaded from 141.166.177.67 on Tue, 06 Oct 2015 18:57:38 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions