Title
Embryonic and fetal development of the red brocket deer (Mazama americana)
Date Issued
01 August 2019
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Habner de Souza Pereira T.
de Andrade R.d.S.
González-Benavent E.
Barros Monteiro F.O.
Valsecchi J.
El Bizri H.R.
Comunidad de Manejo de Fauna Silvestre en la Amazonía y en Latinoamérica
Abstract
The red brocket deer (Mazama americana), a medium-sized Neotropical ungulate, is one of the most hunted mammals in the Amazon. This study analyzes the intrauterine development in the red brocket deer through the description of the external and internal morphology in one embryo and 38 fetuses collected from animals hunted for subsistence in the Amazon. The chronological order of occurrence of external characteristics in relation to the total dorsal length (TDL) was: differentiated genitalia, limbs and eyelid buds (TDL = 3.9 cm), fusioned eyelids, outer ear and hooves (TDL ≥ 9.5 cm), skin (TDL ≥ 20.4 cm), tactile pelage and nasal pigmentation (TDL ≥ 21.5 cm), covering pelage and skin spots (TDL ≥ 31.3 cm), and teeth eruption and opened eyelids (TDL ≥ 34.2 cm). The formula of fetal age was ∛W = 0.072 (t – 42), with a high linear relationship between TDL and gestational age. Multiple linear and non-linear regressions showed strong positive associations between biometric measures and absolute visceral weights with TDL. The relative weight of the tubular gastrointestinal organs, spleen and thymus increased during the fetal development; in contrast, the liver and kidneys’ relative weight diminished during the fetal development. Advanced fetuses (≥44.0 cm TDL) had lower proportion of liver and larger tubular gastrointestinal organs within the visceral weight than adults. The chronology of appearance of the main events of the fetal development suggests that the red brocket deer adopt some precocial features, such as the early development of the sensorial function, including the early development of eyelids, outer ear and tactile pelage, the early development of the covering pelage which acts in thermoregulation and the early teeth eruption which allows the early foraging. Nevertheless, the precocial level of the red brocket deer is apparently lower than other species more frequently predated by large felids, such as peccaries and the paca.
Start page
53
End page
64
Volume
134
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Zoología, Ornitología, Entomología, ciencias biológicas del comportamiento
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85066428461
PubMed ID
Source
Theriogenology
Resource of which it is part
Theriogenology
ISSN of the container
0093691X
DOI of the container
10.1016/j.theriogenology.2019.05.015
Sponsor(s)
We sincerely thank all the people from the community of Nueva Esperanza in the Yavarí-Mirín River, and from the communities of Nova Jerusalém, Boa Esperança, Bom Jesus do Baré, São José do Urini and Belo Monte in the Amanã Sustainable Development Reserve, who actively participated in data collection, showing that communal participation is an important step in the development of wildlife management. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare. We are especially thankful for the institutional support provided by the Instituto de Investigaciones de Trópico y de Altura , the Museo de la Universidad Nacional de la Amazonía Peruana and the Dirección General de Flora y Fauna Silvestre from Peru . This work was supported by the National Council of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq , protocol 452908/2016-7 , 441435/2007-3 , 201475/2017-0 and Edital nº 016/2014 PPP-CNPq ), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas (FAPEAM , Edital nº 016/2014 PPP-CNPq ) and the Earthwatch Institute.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus