Morphological description of the male reproductive system of the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis)

• Main Authors: Raysa Melul Carneiro, Érika Branco, Luane Lopes Pinheiro, Danielli Martinelli Martins, Suzy Silva de Santa Brígida, Elenara Botelho Araújo, Ana Carla Barros de Souza, Luiza Corrêa Pereira, Ana Rita de Lima
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina 2010-12-01
• Series: Biotemas
• Subjects: male reproductive system; morphology; ocelot
• Online Access: http://www.biotemas.ufsc.br/volumes/pdf/volume234/83a89a.pdf

Innumerable species of wild animals have not yet been described anatomically. The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), a wild cat with ample geographic distribution, is an example of this. With the aim of describing the morphology of this animal, we studied the reproductive system of a young male taken from the area of Mina de Bauxita Paragominas/PA – Vale do Rio Doce, that was donated post mortem to the Instituto de Saúde e Produção Animal (ISPA) of the Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia (UFRA). The animal was fixed with formaldehyde 10% and kept in this same solution until the dissection of system under study. The masculine reproductive organs of the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) are represented by: a pair of testis; an epididymis consisting of a head, body and tail; accessory genital glands, i.e. prostate and bulbourethral glands; a masculine urethra and penis.