Morphological description of the male reproductive organ in Coendou prehensilis (porcupine clerk)

• Grant number: 14/25035-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2015
• End date: April 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Reproduction
• Principal Investigator: Carlos Eduardo Ambrósio
• Grantee: Rafael de Oliveira Bento
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Zootecnia e Engenharia de Alimentos (FZEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Pirassununga , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The population decline of some wild animals is a problem found in many species. For its preservation and perpetuation is necessary to have knowledge about their behavior in the environment, in captivity and also a detailed description of your reproductive organ, although all researches, not much is known about this biological system in males. The Coendou prehensilis belongs to rodent order, also known as porcupine clerk, due to its thorns along its body for protection against predators, it is an animal found in a large extension from south America to Mexico, is an herbivore with nocturnal eating habits, with extended pads adapted to living in trees, in the middle and top layers of tropical forests. The main objective of this project is the description and details of the male reproductive organ morphology of the Coendou prehensilis, both macroscopically and microscopically, describing the penis, testicles, glans, foreskin and the accessory glands to improve the reproduction knowledge of this species to its perpetuation. The animals that will be used, duly legalized by IBAMA, are acquired from natural and accidental deaths in zoos, environmental policies and reservations. Macroscopic techniques, light and scanning electron microscopy will be used to describe the Coendou prehensilis male reproductive system. The development of this research aims to improve the knowledge related to the male reproductive system of this specie, and contribute to its preservation and captive breeding, besides increase the knowledge about mammals' rodents and collaborate with future researches. (AU)