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Reproductive biology in Dipsas neivai and D. catesbyi (Serpentes, Colubridae) in southeastern Bahia, Brasil

The reproductive biology of Dipsas neivai Amaral, 1923 and Dipsas catesbyi (Sentzen, 1796), was studied by dissecting 261 specimens of D. neivai and 222 of D. catesbyi. In D. neivai males mature at smaller body size than females, and in D. catesbyi the opposite was observed. The females were larger than males in both species. The clutch size ranged from one to eight in D. neivai, and one to six in D. catesbyi, but it is not correlated with female length in the last one. Reproductive cycles in both males and females are aseasonal, with vitelogensis and spermatogenesis occurring throughout the year. The couple in females of D. neivai is dissociated from the vitellogenesis. D. neivai and D. catesbyi are syntopic and reproduce in the same time of the year, which is possibly related to the continuous availability of prey and little climate variation in southern Bahia.

Atlantic forest; gonadal cycle; sexual dimorphism; sexual maturity


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