Cytogenetic study of the giant otter Pteronura brasiliensis Zimmermann 1780 (Carnivora, Mustelidae, Lutrinae)

• Autor(a) principal: Franco-De-Sá, Jorge Felipe Oliveira
• Data de Publicação: 2007
• Outros Autores: Weber Rosas, Fernando Cesar, Feldberg, Eliana
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional do INPA
• Texto Completo: https://repositorio.inpa.gov.br/handle/1/14964
• topic: Carnivora; Centromere; Chromosome 17; Chromosome Analysis; Chromosome C Band; Chromosome Nor; Chromosome Pairing; Controlled Study; Cytogenetics; Diploidy; Female; Heterochromatin; Karyotype; Male; Nonhuman; Sex Chromosome; Species Difference; Carnivora; Lutrinae; Mammalia; Mustelidae; Pteronura Brasiliensis

The giant otter, Pteronura brasiliensis Zimmermann 1780 (Carnivora, Mustelidae, Lutrinae), was widely distributed in South America but stable populations are now only found in the Pantanal and Amazon regions and the species is classified as endangered. There is only one recognized species of giant otter, although two subspecies of doubtful value have also been cited in the literature. We present the first karyotype of four captive P. brasiliensis specimens, all of which posses 2n = 38 chromosomes as 14M+8SM+6ST+8A and one pair of sexual chromosomes. An heteromorphic secondary constriction, associated with the nucleolar organizer region (NOR), was seen on the long arms of chromosome pair 17. The C-banding technique revealed heterochromatin in the centromeric region of all the chromosomes and the NOR was C-banding positive. The giant otter presented the same diploid number as most mustelids, although its karyotype is quite species-specific. Copyright by the Brazilian Society of Genetics.