| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Mailho-Fontana, Pedro L.
;
Antoniazzi, Marta M.
;
Coelho, Guilherme R.
;
Pimenta, Daniel C.
;
Fernandes, Ligia P.
;
Kupfer, Alexander
;
Brodie Jr, Edmund D.
;
Jared, Carlos
Total Authors: 8
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | Science; v. 383, n. 6687, p. 4-pg., 2024-03-08. |
| Abstract | |
Among vertebrates, the yolk is commonly the only form of nutritional investment offered by the female to the embryo. Some species, however, have developed parental care behaviors associated with specialized food provisioning essential for offspring survival, such as the production of lipidic-rich parental milk in mammals. Here, we show that females of the egg-laying caecilian amphibian Siphonops annulatus provide similarly lipid-rich milk to altricial hatchlings during parental care. We observed that for 2 months, S. annulatus babies ingested milk released through the maternal vent seemingly in response to tactile and acoustic stimulation by the babies. The milk, composed mainly of lipids and carbohydrates, originates from the maternal oviduct epithelium's hypertrophied glands. Our data suggest lactation in this oviparous nonmammalian species and expand the knowledge of parental care and communication in caecilians. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 18/03265-9 - Unraveling parental care in caecilians: nutritional and toxinological implications in Siphonops annulatus |
| Grantee: | Carlos Alberto Gonçalves Silva Jared |
| Support Opportunities: | Regular Research Grants |
| FAPESP's process: | 17/10488-1 - Parental care and skin feeding in the caecilian Siphonops annulatus: an integrative approach |
| Grantee: | Pedro Luiz Mailho Fontana |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral |