Chelonian Reproduction - Anatomy & Physiology

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Male

Testes

  • Long, yellow and oval in shape.
  • Attached to the cranioventral pole of the kidneys.
  • Ductus deferens runs alongside ureters to the cloaca.

Phallus

  • Ventral proctodeum is modified and thickened into a single phallus.
  • Two pairs of fibrous tissue separated by a central trough.
  • Cannot be inverted (unlike lizards and snakes).
  • Highly vascular.
  • When inserted into the female cloaca it becomes engorged.
  • Semen is conveyed through the central sulcus.
  • A retractor muscle returns the phallus back into the cloaca.

Female

Copulation