A Taxonomic Survey of Female Oviducal Glands in Chondrichthyes: A Comparative Overview of Microanatomy in the Two Reproductive Modes.

ABSTRACT: Oviducal glands (OGs) are distinct expanded regions of the anterior portion of the oviduct, commonly found in chondrichthyans, which play a key role in the production of the egg in-vestments and in the female sperm storage (FSS). The FSS phenomenon has implications for understanding the reproductive ecology and management of exploited populations, but little information is available on its taxonomic extent. For the first time, mature OGs from three lecithotrophic oviparous and four yolk-sac viviparous species, all considered at risk from the fishing impacts in the central western Mediterranean Sea, were examined using light microscopy. The OG microanatomy, whose morphology is generally conserved in all species, shows differences within the two reproductive modalities. Oviparous species sho

SUBMITTER: Marongiu MF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8471067 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature