<b>Biologia reprodutiva da jararaca da Amazônia, <i>Bothrops atrox</i> (Serpente: Viperidae)</b>

Abstract

DEDICATÓRIA AGRADECIMENTOSÀ minha orientadora Selma M. de Almeida-Santos. Obrigada Selma por me acolher ainda na iniciação, sou muito grata a você por ter me ajudado a realizar esse sonho e por acreditar em mim, pelo apoio e incentivo em todos os momentos. E também pelo exemplo de carinho e preocupação com todos nós do grupo de reprodução.Ao Otavio A. V. Marques pela parceria e apoio, sem sua ajuda a viagem ao Pará seria muito difícil. Obrigada Otávio!!! Ao Ricardo J. Sawaya, pela sua atenção e acolhimento quando ainda eu apenas buscava informações e bibliografias para o meu trabalho de reprodução em cativeiro com serpentes. Obrigada Ricardo por apresentar a Selma, a partir desse momento a minha vida mudou.À Leticia Ruiz Sueiro por me ensinar a dissecar e coletar dados da biologia reprodutiva de serpentes e pelos seus brilhantes conselhos. Bothrops atrox is a snake of large ecological importance due to its wide geographic distribution in the vast and diversified Amazonian habitat. Information about the reproductive biology of B. atrox are scarce and punctual, with most information derived from snakes kept in captivity. Thus, this paper aimed to describe the reproductive cycle of B. atrox, as well as reproductive strategies related to this cycle as: maturity and sexual dimorphism, fecundity, sperm storage, and the hypertrophy of sexual segment of the kidney in males. Moreover, this work also aimed to relate such strategies with environmental conditions (temperature and precipitation). For that, it were examined 325 specimens of B. atrox, being males and females (mature and immature) from the Brazilian Amazon, preserved in nine herpetological collections. Results showed some differences related to sexual dimorphism: neonates males had the coloration of the tail tip yellow, whereas females showed the tail tip with dark coloration. It was also observed that neonate males had dark pigmentation in the throat region, whereas neonate females showed lighter coloration. Adult females were significantly larger than males, and attained sexual maturity at larger body sizes than males. Vitellogenesis was seasonal (January to August), however, there was no synchrony between the occurrence of pregnant females and birth periods. Thus, the extent observed in the female reproductive cycle was possible due to the sperm storage, since mating is seasonal. Male reproductive cycle was discontinuous, seasonal semi-synchronous. Sperm production occurred throughout the year, however, spermiogenesis was observed mainly in the beginning of the rainy season (BRS) and testicular regression in the beginning of the dry season (BRS). Sperm storage in the ductus deferens was observed during all months of the year and the sexual segment of the kidney presented hypertrophy in BRS and in the end of the rainy season (ERS), thus synchronized with spermiogenesis. Therefore, environmental conditions (temperature and rainfall) were essential in determining the type of reproductive cycle of B. atrox. Pregnant females were found during several months o...

Reproductive and feeding biology of the common lancehead Bothrops atrox (Serpentes, Viperidae) from central and southwestern Brazilian Amazonia

“…Of the 26 species occurring in Brazil, the few for which data on reproductive biology are available include Bothrops jararaca (Almeida- Santos and Orsi 2002), B. moojeni (Nogueira et al 2003), B. neuwiedi (Valdujo et al 2002;Hartmann et al 2004), B. mattogrossensis (Monteiro et al 2006), B. alternatus (Nunes et al 2010), B. insularis (Marques et al 2013), B. leucurus (Lira-da-Silva 2009Barros et al 2014) and B. atrox (Hoge andFedersoni 1976/1977;Cunha and Nascimento 1981;Oliveira 2003;Santos-Costa et al 2015;Silva 2015). These studies show that aspects of reproduction, such as viviparity and the existence of a seasonal reproductive cycle, are conserved in the group.…”