Comparative analysis of the male reproductive accessory glands of bat species from the five Brazilian subfamilies of the family Phyllostomidae (Chiroptera)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Processo FAPESP: 2009/16181-9

Processo FAPESP: 2009/03470-2

This study aimed to morphologically characterize and compare the male reproductive accessory glands (RAGs) of bats belonging to the five Brazilian subfamilies of the family Phyllostomidae (Carollia perspicillata—Carollinae; Desmodus rotundus—Desmodontinae; Glossophaga soricina—Glossophaginae; Phyllostomus discolor—Phyllostominae and Platyrrhinus lineatus—Stenodermatinae). The study demonstrated that the RAGs of phyllostomid bats were comprised of a pair of extra-abdominal bulbourethral glands and an intra-abdominal complex, composed of paraurethral glands and a prostate with two (Desmodontinae and Stenodermatinae) or three (Carollinae, Glossophaginae and Phyllostominae) different regions, with the absence of the seminal vesicles; this pattern possibly evolved from a process of compaction of the prostatic regions from an ancestor with three regions.