02103nas a2200265 4500008004100000245011000041210006900151260000900220300001400229490000700243520132800250653001501578653001701593653001301610653001501623653001701638653001801655653002501673653001601698653001701714653001801731100002001749700002201769856004601791 1997 eng d00aFacultative storage of spermatozoa by the female Geoffroy’s horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus clivosus)0 aFacultative storage of spermatozoa by the female Geoffroy s hors c1997 a2142-21460 v753 aThe winter breeding biology of Rhinolophus clivosus on the Gauteng Highveld, South Africa (25°S), was investigated. In contrast with a previous study in Natal (29°S), spermatozoa were not found to be stored in the uterine lumen and glands, since the spermatozoa were phagocytosed by polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the uterus. Only 25% of the females collected contained spermatozoa in their uterotubal junctions and oviducts, where the spermatozoa were oriented towards the epithelium with their heads parallel to one another, an arrangement that is characteristic of sperm-storage sites. The uteri of 66% of the females were infiltrated by large numbers of polymorphonuclear leukocytes, most probably in response to recent inseminations. The results indicate that only 25% of the females retained spermatozoa in their reproductive tracts for an undetermined length of time, whereas 66% of the females were most likely inseminated but did not store spermatozoa for the duration of the winter (May to August). In contrast with R. clivosus in Natal, females of this species on the Gauteng Highveld do not uniformly store spermatozoa for prolonged periods and sperm storage seems to be the responsibility of the males. This illustrates the divergent geographic variability in the reproduction of this species.10aChiroptera10aFledermäuse10aMammalia10aphysiology10areproduction10aRhinolophidae10aRhinolophus clivosus10aseasonality10aSouth Africa10asperm storage1 aWessels, K., J.1 avan der Merwe, M. uhttps://afribats.myspecies.info/node/4311