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Lowering body temperature induces embryonic diapause during prolonged egg retention in the lizard, Calotes versicolor

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Abstract

The lizard Calotes versicolor delays oviposition of oviductal eggs for as long as 6 months or more under unfavourable conditions. During this period of prolonged egg retention, the growth of oviductal embryos is arrested at stage 34. The present study shows for the first time among reptiles that the "embryonic diapause" is manifested by the gravid females by lowering their body temperature (T b) by 3–5°C during the period of egg retention by mechanism(s) presently unknown.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by a grant from DST (SP/SO/C-16) awarded to B.A.S. and partly supported by grant SAP-II, UGC, New Delhi. R.S.R. is supported by CSIR research associateship.

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  1. Department of Zoology, Karnatak University, Dharwad – 580 003, India

    Bhagyashri A. Shanbhag, Srinivas K. Saidapur & Rajkumar S. Radder

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  1. Bhagyashri A. Shanbhag
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  2. Srinivas K. Saidapur
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  3. Rajkumar S. Radder
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Correspondence to Bhagyashri A. Shanbhag.

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Shanbhag, B.A., Saidapur, S.K. & Radder, R.S. Lowering body temperature induces embryonic diapause during prolonged egg retention in the lizard, Calotes versicolor . Naturwissenschaften 90, 33–35 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-002-0382-3

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