Title
Ultrasound evaluation of fetal bone development in the collared (Pecari tajacu) and white-lipped peccary (Tayassu pecari)
Date Issued
01 September 2022
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Pereira T.H.d.S.
Monteiro F.O.B.
Pereira da Silva G.
Rodrigues de Matos S.E.
El Bizri H.R.
Valsecchi J.
Coutinho L.N.
López Plana C.
Museo de Culturas Indígenas Amazónicas
Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana
Abstract
The study of fetal development allows for evaluating the different strategies adopted by mammal species to maximize neonatal survival. Autonomous locomotion is fundamental for newborns to perform foraging activities and increases newborn survival from predation. In this study, we assess the gestational bone development of 53 collared (CP, Pecari tajacu) and 61 white-lipped (WLP, Tayassu pecari) peccaries, collected through the collaboration of subsistence hunters in the Amazon. The bone mineralization and biometry of the axial and appendicular skeleton were assessed by ultrasound examinations, and the timing of the main bone developmental events was calculated in relation to the total dorsal length (TDL) and the percentage of the total gestational period (GP). The first US signs of mineralization of the axial skeleton in CP and WLP were observed in fetuses with 3.4 cm (42 gestation days, 30% GPCP) and 5.1 cm (51 gestation days, 32% GPWLP). The early development of the appendicular skeleton was observed by the synchronic appearance of the mineralized scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, ilium, ischium, femur, tibia, and fibula at 36% GPCP (50 gestation days), and 35% GPWLP (56 gestation days). The pubis was mineralized in fetuses at 55% GPCP (75 gestation days) and 59% GPWLP (94 gestation days). The mineralization was observed in all autopod bones at 79% GPCP (109 gestation days) and 67% GPWLP (106 gestation days). All primary ossification centers in long bones of thoracic and pelvic limbs were mineralized in advanced fetuses (GPCP and GPWLP ≥75%). The mineralized patella was not observed in advanced fetuses in either species. Secondary ossification centers first appeared at the distal epiphysis of the femur in the CP (99 gestation days, 72% GPCP) and the distal epiphysis of the radius, femur, and tibia in the WLP (106 gestation days, 67% GPWLP). Advanced fetuses of CP and WLP presented 60% (15/25) and 68% (17/25) of the total secondary ossification centers observed present in the adult domestic pig, while newborns from the domestic pig presented 52% (13/25). The early intrauterine development of the skeletal system in both peccary species suggests a precocial development strategy, which likely correlates with neonatal ability to escape predators and reduces the dependence on parental care.
Start page
741
End page
755
Volume
241
Issue
3
OCDE Knowledge area
Zoología, Ornitología, Entomología, ciencias biológicas del comportamiento
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85133521807
PubMed ID
Source
Journal of Anatomy
Resource of which it is part
Journal of Anatomy
ISSN of the container
00218782
DOI of the container
10.1111/joa.13724
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. Communal participation is an important step in the development of wildlife management. We are especially thankful for the institutional support provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (number 5344), 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, award numbers 441435/2007-3, 452908/2016-7, 201475/2017-0, and Edital n° 016/2014 PPP-CNPq), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas (FAPEAM, Edital n° 016/2014 PPP-CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, protocol N° 23038.005350/2018-78) and the Earthwatch Institute. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
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