Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 85 (3): 307-320, 2012
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Reproductive and fat body cycles of Tropidurus hispidus and
Tropidurus semitaeniatus (Squamata, Tropiduridae) in a caatinga area of northeastern Brazil
This study assessed the reproductive and fat body cycles of Tropidurus
hispidus (Spix, 1825) and T. semitaeniatus (Spix, 1825) in an area of caatinga in the Seridó of Rio Grande do Norte,
Brazil, from October 2006 to May 2008. In both species, the females were reproductively active from the middle of the dry season to
the beginning of the rainy season. Female reproductive activity was influenced by precipitation, whereas males exhibited spermatozoa
in their testes throughout the year, and their reproductive activity was not related to any of the climatic variables analyzed. Mean clutch
size (± SD) was 8.1 ± 2.0 and 2.1 ± 0.6 eggs in T. hispidus and T. semitaeniatus, respectively, and was
significantly related to female body size only in T. hispidus. The fat stock varied inversely with reproductive activity in the
two species, and there was no difference in fat body mass between females and males. The effects of precipitation on the length of the
breeding season of these two Tropidurus species suggest that their reproductive cycles are related to the microclimatic
conditions suitable for embryo development, as well as for the neonates’ emergence and survival especially during the rainy season,
which may offer greater food availability to the hatchlings.
Key words:
body size-
fecundity, clutch size, minimum size at maturity, reproduction, semiarid.
