Title
Embryonic and fetal development of the white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari)
Date Issued
01 October 2018
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Abstract
The white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari) is an endangered large-sized Neotropical ungulate that is one of the most hunted mammals in the Amazon. Here, we used two embryos and 102 white-lipped peccary fetuses originated from animals hunted for subsistence in the Peruvian and Brazilian Amazon to describe the intrauterine development of external and internal morphology of this Neotropical ungulate. Logistic regressions were used to estimate the probability of occurrence of main external characteristics in relation to the total dorsal length (TDL), while multiple linear and non-linear regressions were conducted to assess the relationship between external and visceral biometry with TDL. External characteristics appeared in the following chronological order: limbs, differentiated genitalia and opened eyelids (≥5.1 cm TDL), fused eyelids (≥6.2 cm TDL), hooves and outer ear (≥7.9 cm TDL), dorsal gland (≥9.4 cm TDL), skin (≥11.5 cm TDL); tactile pelage (≥13.8 cm TDL), covering pelage (≥20.9 cm TDL), tooth eruption (≥26.4 cm TDL) and opened eyelids (≥27.8 cm TDL). The formula of fetal age was ∛W = 0.084 (t – 31.80), with a high linear relationship between TDL and gestational age. All external biometric parameters and absolute volume of visceral organs showed strong positive relationship with TDL. Except for the liver, we found differences in the relative volume of most visceral organs between advanced fetuses (≥34.2 cm TDL) and adults. The most important events during the intrauterine development in the white-lipped peccary show that, in contrast with the domestic pig, it is a highly precocial species producing newborns with a high fetal growth velocity which allows newborns to achieve an early autonomous functionality. Our results are relevant to improve imaging techniques and assist the reproductive and clinical management for the white-lipped peccary both in captivity and in the wild.
Start page
163
End page
174
Volume
119
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
BiologÃa reproductiva
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85053115149
PubMed ID
Source
Theriogenology
Resource of which it is part
Theriogenology
ISSN of the container
0093691X
DOI of the container
10.1016/j.teriogenologÃa.2018.07.006
Sponsor(s)
We sincerely thank all the people from the community of Nueva Esperanza in the YavarÃ-MirÃn 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 AmazonÃa 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 , 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 . We would like to thank Mr. Walfrido Monteiro ( https://www.behance.net/WalfridoMonteiro ) for the video produced with 3D fetal images attached as supplementary materialof this paper.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción CientÃfica
Scopus