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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
This work aims to study the female reproductive tract of silky sharks, Carcharhinus falciformis, captured in the South and
Equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Samples were collected between January 2008 and March 2010 through oceanic commercial vessels
that targeted tuna and swordfish, with a total of 17 females collected. The methodologies followed for analyzing the ovaries
of those females included both macroscopic and histological analysis. Macroscopically, it was possible to determine that the
ovaries on these sharks is suspended by mesenteries in the anterior section of the body cavity, heavily irrigated by blood
vessels, and contains a wide range of oocytes. Ovaries were found in three distinct maturational stages: Stage I (Immature),
Stage II (Maturing) and Stage III (Mature). Immature ovaries were small, with widths ranging from 1.0 to 3.1 cm, and had a
gelatinous or granulose internal structure; maturing ovaries were slightly larger, ranging in width between 5.2 and 6.0 cm;
mature ovaries ranged in width between 6.5 and 7.8 cm, and had a more rounded shape and the presence of large and well
developed oocytes. Under microscopic examination, it was observed that the ovaries were covered with simple epithelial
tissue during the early development stages and a simple cubic epithelium in the final stages of maturation. During the initial
maturation stages the epigonal organ was not differentiated from the ovary. In mature specimens, the ovary showed a simple
cubic epithelium and just below this epithelium there was a layer of dense connective tissue and muscle with the presence of
vitellogenic oocytes and fat cells. A thin yolk membrane enclosing the oocytes was also evident. Finally, it was possible to
distinguish a zona pellucida, separating the oocytes from the follicle wall and a basal lamina between the granular layers and
the teak layer.
Description
Keywords
Elasmobranchs Histology Maturity Ovary Reproduction
Citation
Publisher
Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia