Structural and biochemical characteristics of the male accessory organs of reproduction in the hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus latifrons)

Abstract

A description is given of the male reproductive tract in the South Australian marsupial, the hairy-nosed wombat, Lasiorhinus latifrons ; the study was based mainly on material obtained from animals shot in the field during the period October-December, but a few observations on captive wombats are also reported. The testes, located in a pre-penile scrotum, contained in the region of the ductuli efferentes a characteristic pigment, which occasionally extended as far as the caput epididymidis. The cauda epididymidis was enclosed within a separate pocket formed by the tunica vaginalis. The ductus deferens had no ampulla. The penis, bifid at the tip, was held in an S-bend position by the retractor penis muscles. The male accessory apparatus was of a highly complex type. In addition to the carrot-shaped prostate gland with three clearly discernible portions (anterior, central and posterior), three other pairs of glands were identified, which for the purpose of the present study have been designated as ‘Cowper’s glands’ ( A , B , and C ) without implying, however, that they are strictly analogous to the Cowper’s gland of eutherian mammals. Chemical examination of the male accessory glands led to the identification of a number of chemical substances, including fructose, sorbitol, glycogen, glucose, inositol, glycerol, citric acid, sialic acid, N -acetylglucosamine and N -acetylgalactosamine. The three most characteristic constituents of the anterior, central and posterior segments of the prostate gland were sorbitol, fructose and glycogen, respectively; the central and posterior segment of the prostate contained also some glucose and N -acetylhexosamine. Citric acid was shown to occur at high concentration in the Cowper’s gland A while the C gland was characteristically rich in sialic acid. A description is given of spermatozoa which had been recovered from the urine.