We studied the reproductive characteristics of a population of Gonatodes albogularis in an Andean tropical dry forest with a bimodal rainfall regime. Females were smaller than males in snout-vent length (SVL). Males and females reached sexual maturity at similar body sizes (close to 31 mm SVL) and had continuous reproductive activity during the sampling year. All adult females were reproductive (vitellogenic and gravid females); they were found throughout the year and we did not observe differences among months in reproductive stages, nor in the follicular and ovarian sizes. Gravid females produced only one egg and had simultaneously one large vitellogenic follicle, suggesting a continuous reproductive activity. Adult males had spermatozoa in testes and ducts during all months and there were no significant changes among months in the volume and mass of testes adjusted to body size. These data, plus the observation of neonates and communal nests in every month of the year, confirm a pattern of continuous reproductive activity with multiple clutches. Despite the low mean annual rainfall, and the marked seasonality of rainfall in the area, the population exhibited an aseasonal reproductive pattern that suggests a continuous availability of resources for reproduction.
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1 April 2007
ANNUAL REPRODUCTIVE ACTIVITY OF GONATODES ALBOGULARIS (SQUAMATA: GEKKONIDAE) LIVING IN AN ANTHROPICAREA IN SANTANDER, COLOMBIA
Victor Hugo Serrano-Cardozo,
Martha Patricia Ramírez-Pinilla,
Jesús Eduardo Ortega,
Luis Alberto Cortes
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South American Journal of Herpetology
Vol. 2 • No. 1
April 2007
Vol. 2 • No. 1
April 2007
clutch
reproductive activity
Squamata
tropical gecko
Yellow-headed gecko