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da Silva GP, Monteiro FOB, Pereira THDS, de Matos SER, Dos Santos de Andrade R, El Bizri HR, Coutinho LN, Valsecchi J, López-Plana C, Mayor P. Fetal bone development in the lowland paca (Cuniculus paca, Rodentia, Cuniculidae) determined using ultrasonography. J Anat 2020; 237:105-118. [PMID: 32255516 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2019] [Revised: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Studying the timing of the main events of embryonic and fetal development may clarify the strategies adopted by species to maximize neonatal survival and the consequences of these events for their life history. This study describes bone development during the fetal phase of the lowland paca (Cuniculus paca), comparing it with other precocial or altricial species, and its relationship with the species' adaptive strategies. A total of 102 embryos/fetuses obtained over the course of 17 years through collaboration with local subsistence hunters in the Amazon were analyzed. Measurements of mineralization of the axial and appendicular skeletons were performed by ultrasonography using a 10-18-MHz linear transducer. The chronological order of occurrence of mineralization in relation to the total dorsal length (TDL) was: skull (TDL = 4.1 cm); vertebral bodies (TDL = 4.6 cm); scapula, humerus, radius, ulna, ilium, ischium, femur, tibia, and fibula (TDL = 6.7 cm); ribs (TDL = 7.8 cm); clavicle (TDL = 8.5 cm); metacarpi/metatarsi (TDL = 11 cm); phalanges (TDL = 15 cm); tarsus (TDL = 18 cm); patella (TDL = 23 cm); and carpus (TDL = 27.2 cm). Secondary ossification centers first appeared in the femoral distal epiphysis (TDL = 16.6 cm) and tibial proximal epiphysis (TDL = 18.4 cm). Advanced fetuses (TDL > 30 cm, 97% gestational period) presented mineralization in all primary and most secondary centers. Compared to other species, paca neonates have a well-developed skeletal system at birth, which is important for their independent postnatal locomotion. Our results may contribute to the monitoring of bone development in other wild species, helping us to understand their life history, and serving as parameters for comparisons between precocial and altricial mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gessiane Pereira da Silva
- Postgraduate Program in Animal Health and Production in Amazonia (PPGSPAA), Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA), Belém, Brazil
| | - Frederico Ozanan Barros Monteiro
- Postgraduate Program in Animal Health and Production in Amazonia (PPGSPAA), Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA), Belém, Brazil
| | - Thyago Habner de Souza Pereira
- Postgraduate Program in Animal Health and Production in Amazonia (PPGSPAA), Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA), Belém, Brazil
| | - Sandy Estefany Rodrigues de Matos
- Postgraduate Program in Animal Health and Production in Amazonia (PPGSPAA), Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA), Belém, Brazil
| | - Rafael Dos Santos de Andrade
- Postgraduate Program in Animal Health and Production in Amazonia (PPGSPAA), Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA), Belém, Brazil
| | - Hani Rocha El Bizri
- Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute (IDSM), Tefé, Brazil.,Comunidad de Manejo de Fauna Silvestre en la Amazonía y en Latinoamérica, ComFauna, Iquitos, Peru.,Rede de Pesquisa para Estudos sobre Diversidade, Conservação e Uso da Fauna na Amazônia (RedeFauna), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.,Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Oxford Road, Manchester, UK
| | - Leandro Nassar Coutinho
- Postgraduate Program in Animal Health and Production in Amazonia (PPGSPAA), Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA), Belém, Brazil
| | - João Valsecchi
- Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute (IDSM), Tefé, Brazil.,Comunidad de Manejo de Fauna Silvestre en la Amazonía y en Latinoamérica, ComFauna, Iquitos, Peru.,Rede de Pesquisa para Estudos sobre Diversidade, Conservação e Uso da Fauna na Amazônia (RedeFauna), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - Carlos López-Plana
- Departament de Sanitat i d'Anatomia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Pedro Mayor
- Postgraduate Program in Animal Health and Production in Amazonia (PPGSPAA), Federal Rural University of the Amazon (UFRA), Belém, Brazil.,Comunidad de Manejo de Fauna Silvestre en la Amazonía y en Latinoamérica, ComFauna, Iquitos, Peru.,Departament de Sanitat i d'Anatomia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Barcelona, Spain.,Museo de Culturas Indígenas Amazónicas, Iquitos, Peru
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