7) Uteroplacental circulation
This is completely unknown.
8) Extraplacental membranes
The amnion is composed of a thin layer of connective tissue and has a flat squamous epithelium. No squamous metaplasia was present. The allantoic sac was attached to the cord near its insertion on the placenta and has blood vessels. No hippomanes were present.
9) Trophoblast external to barrier
It is unlikely that trophoblast invades to uterus, but no implanted placenta has yet been studied.
10) Endometrium
There is no knowledge on the gestational endometrium. Muntjacs have only one uterine horn. It is unknown what the situation is for the tufted deer. Whether there is decidualization of the endometrium in pregnancy is unknown.
11) Various features
There are no other features of relevance.
12) Endocrinology
No studies have been published and we have not undertaken endocrine analysis of these animals.
13) Genetics
Tufted deer have unusual chromosomes according to the most recent study of these unusual animals. Shi et al. (1991) found that females had 46 or 47 chromosomes, while males had 47 or 48 chromosomes. In meiotic studies an autosome/X translocation was identified. Other studies are cited, such as the one by Zhang et al. (1984) and Wang &. Quan (1981). Hybrids have not been described. Studies of mtDNA by Lan & Shi (1993) indicated that muntjacs and tufted deer are closely related.
14) Immunology
There are no publications on immunological characteristics.
15) Pathological features
At this zoo we have seen occasional stillbirth without abnormalities. No significant pathology has been described.
16) Physiologic data
No studies have been published to my knowledge.
17) Other resources
Several cell lines of these animals are stored in the "Frozen Zoo" at CRES of the San Diego Zoo. They were used in the study by Shi et al. (1991) and can be made available by contacting Dr. Oliver Ryder at oryder@ucsd.edu.
18) Other remarks - What additional Information is needed?
There is no knowledge on implantation, hormones, accurate length of gestation, and other reproductive parameters. Few pathologic findings have been made. Much more knowledge is needed on all these features. An implanted placenta needs to be studied.
Acknowledgement
The animal photograph in this chapter comes from the Zoological Society of San Diego. I appreciate also very much the help of the pathologists at the San Diego Zoo.
References
Dolan, J.M. Jr.: Deer - the successful invaders. Zoonooz (San Diego) 44:4-15, 1971.
Dolan, J.F. Jr.: China's tufted deer. Zoonooz (San Diego) 59:12, 1986.
Helin, S. and Houji, L.: Distribution, habits and resource status of the tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus). Acta Zool. Sinica 28:307-311, 1982.
Jones, M.L.: Longevity of ungulates in captivity. Intern. Zoo Yearbk. 32:159-169, 1993.
Lan, H. and Shi, L.: Restriction endonuclease analysis of mitochondrial DNA of muntjacs and related deer. In, Deer of China, pp. 126-134. N. Ohtaishi and H.I Sheng, eds. Elsevier Science Publishers, 1993.
Nowak, R.M.: Walker's Mammals of the World. 6th ed. The Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore, 1999.
Schwenn, C.: Management and behavior of Western Tufted Deer () at the San Diego Zoo. Animal Keepers Forum 15:475-482, 1988.
Shi, L., Yang, F. and Kumamoto, A.: The chromosomes of tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus). Cytogenet. Cell Genet. 56:189-192, 1991.
Wang, Z. and Quan, G.: Karyotype of Elaphodus cephalophus. Zool. Res. 5:78, 1984. (In Chinese).
Zhang, X., Wang, J. and Chen, Y.: Somatic chromosome studies of the tufted deer (Elaphodus cephalophus). Zool. Res. 4:89-93, 1984. (In Chinese).
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