Reproduction in Elephant-Shrews (Macroscelididae) With Special Reference to Ovulation and Implantation

Summary. Preserved reproductive tracts of eleven species of elephantshrew were examined histologically and experiments were performed upon captive animals. Recently formed cl were found to be everted out of the surface of the ovary. Ovulation rates, estimated from cl counts, were found to be very high in some species but low in others. Ovulation was induced in one species by administration of a pituitary extract. With the exception of one species, the litter sizes never exceeded two and implantation appeared to be restricted to two localized sites in the uterus. A median uterus functionally replaced the vagina in elephantshrews. These findings are discussed in relation to previous studies of these and other mammals.