The development of the oviducal gland in the Rajid thornback ray,

Bárbara Serra-Pereira (1, 2) , Fernando Afonso (3) , Inês Farias (1) , Pedro Joyce (1, 2) , Megan Ellis (nee Storrie) (4) , Ivone Figueiredo (1) , Leonel Serrano Gordo (2)

1 Unidade de Recursos Marinhos e Sustentabilidade
2 Centro de Oceanografia & Departamento de Biologia Animal
3 Departamento de Sanidade Animal
4 Industry and Investment NSW, Port Stephens Fisheries Institute

The reproductive processes of chondrichthyans are complex. Knowledge of the development and maturation of the oviducal gland is vital for understanding the reproductive biology of a species. This study represents the first contribution of this subject for skates. In the oviparous thornback ray, , oviducal gland development begins early in the developing stage with the formation of gland tubules and the distinct lamellae of each zone: club, papillary, baffle and terminal. Oviducal development is complete by the end of the developing stage when the storage and secretion of products is evident within the gland tubules of each zone. Periodic acid-Schiff and alcian blue histological staining showed that the secretory mucous cells of the club and papillary zones produce neutral and sulfated acid mucins. The last row of gland tubules of the papillary zone stains intensely for sulfated acid mucins. The baffle zone, which is responsible for the production of the egg capsule, represented 60-80% of the glandular zone of the oviducal gland. Sperm bundles were observed in the deeper recesses of the baffle zone during the maturation process, and during capsule extrusion, sperm were detected near the lumen. The terminal zone was composed of two types of gland tubules: serous (producing protein fibres) and mucous glands (producing sulfated acid mucins).

Mots clés: Maturation; Oviparous; Portugal; Rajidae; Reproduction

Bárbara Serra-Pereira, Fernando Afonso, Inês Farias, Pedro Joyce, Megan Ellis (nee Storrie), et al.. The development of the oviducal gland in the Rajid thornback ray,. Helgoland Marine Research, 2010, 65 (3), pp.399-411. ⟨10.1007/s10152-010-0232-1⟩. ⟨hal-00634810⟩