title: The female reproductive cycle of the neotropical snake Atractus pantostictus (Fernandes and Puorto, 1993) from south-eastern Brazil.
abstract: Data on reproductive activity of fossorial species are limited because the specimens are difficult to be observed and captured. Here in, we present the reproductive cycle of female Atractus pantostictus, a fossorial neotropical species, and the sexual maturity of males and females in south-eastern Brazil. The female reproductive cycle of A. pantostictus is seasonal, with vitellogenic follicles being found from September to April and eggs in November, February, March and April with the number varying between two and four. Spermatozoa were found in the lumen of the glandular and non-glandular uterus in females collected during the rainy season. Sperm storage tubules were found in the posterior infundibulum of the females, where the storage of sperm occurs for a short time. The storage may occur because mating and ovulation are dissociated.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós Graduação em Zoologia de Vertebrados, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, CEP 30535-901, Brazil.|Unidade de Coleções Científicas e Popularização da Ciência, Fundação Ezequiel Dias, Rua Conde Pereira Carneiro, 80, Gameleira, Belo Horizonte, CEP 30510-010, Brazil.
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: de Resende
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós Graduação em Zoologia de Vertebrados, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, CEP 30535-901, Brazil.|Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Museu de Ciências Naturais, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, Avenida Dom José Gaspar, 290, Coração Eucarístico, Belo Horizonte, CEP 30535-901, Brazil.
authors.forename: L B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Nascimento
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D010057:Oviducts / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology; D012621:Seasons; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D012741:Sexual Maturation / Q000502:physiology; D012911:Snakes / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D014329:Tropical Climate