Intracascaral space; an eggshell structure of Caiman latirostris eggs

Abstract

In recent decades, eggshells of eggs from large-bodied reptiles have been studied by many researchers, to describe the eggshell, to compare them to extinct lineages that once inhabited our planet and also to understand how the egg provides the embryo specific conditions during incubation. In previous studies we described and characterized normal and pathologic Caiman latirostris eggshells; we also evaluated how the eggshell changes during incubation. In a study relating temperature variation and eggshell structures of successful eggs, we observed empty structures not previously described that we termed intracascaral space. The aim of this study is to describe this structure of C. latirostris eggshells. We hypothesize about the possible functions which it would perform during incubation and for development of the embryos.