Gross and histological observations of the testis and epididymis of adult male African fruit bat (Epomops franqueti)

Abstract

Biometrical and histometrical studies were carried out on the testis and epididymis of fifteen adult male bat (Epomops franqueti). The basic data generated could be useful in the comparative regional anatomy of the male reproductive organs of E. franqueti and other bat species. The average body weight of the experimental bats was 97.64±5.90g. The mean relative testicular weights were (0.089±0.0031) g and (0.083±0.0038) g for right and left respectively while the epididymal weights were (0.037±0.0012) g and (0.033±0.001) g for right and left respectively. The testis was covered by a testicular capsule. The seminiferous tubules were lined, successively, with germs cells at different stages of cell division. The diameter of the tubules compared to those of the lumen and germinal epithelium of the testis, the epididymal ductal diameter, luminal diameter and epithelial height of the E. franqueti, were similar to previous reports on other chiropteran species.