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Abstract
Ground Skink (Scincella lateralis) testes were examined histologically to determine
the testicular organization and germ cell development strategy employed during spermatogenesis.
Testicular tissues were collected from 19 ground skinks from Aiken County, South Carolina
during the months of March-June, August, and October. The testes consisted of seminiferous
tubules lined with germinal epithelia in which germ cells matured in close association
with Sertoli cells. As germ cells matured, they migrated away from the basal lamina
of the epithelia towards the lumina of the seminiferous tubules. The testes were spermatogenically
active during the months of March, April, May, June, and October (largest seminiferous
tubule diameters and epithelial heights), but entered a quiescent period in August
(smallest seminiferous tubule diameter and epithelial height) where only spermatogonia
type A and B and early spermatocytes were present in low numbers within the seminiferous
epithelium. Although the testicular organization was similar to other amniotes, a
temporal germ cell development strategy was employed during spermatogenesis within
Ground Skinks, similar to that of anamniotes. Thus, this skink's germ cell development
strategy, which also has been recently reported in all other major reptilian clades,
may represent an evolutionary intermediate in terms of testicular organization between
anamniotes and birds and mammals.