Description of the postcloacal glands of Plethodon cinereus, the red-backed salamander, during bouts of scent marking

✍ Scribed by Richard R. Simons; Bruce E. Felgenhauer; Trevonne Thompson

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 843 KB
• Volume: 242
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0362-2525
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4687(199912)242:3<257::aid-jmor5>3.0.co;2-a

✦ Synopsis

Plethodon cinereus, the red-backed salamander, is a small territorial vertebrate that defends refugia located on the forest floor. As a component of territorial defense, these animals use scent marks to advertise their refugia. Behavioral evidence indicates that scent marks are produced by the postcloacal glands located on the ventral surface of the tail just posterior to the cloaca. We placed animals on unmarked substrates and recorded changes in serous acini from the postcloacal and shoulder region over a 48-h period. Within the first hour there was an increase in the number of acini filled with secretory product in the postcloacal region. At 12 h the number of full acini decreased and the number of empty acini increased. By 24 h the number of empty acini had decreased and the number of renewing acini containing secretory cells producing product had increased. By 48 h the ratio of full to empty to renewing acini was similar to those observed at the start of the study. In the shoulder region, no significant changes in the ratio of full to empty to renewing acini were observed. Observations of the serous acini within the postcloacal region and the shoulder region indicate that the mode of secretory production is holocrine. These findings are additional evidence that the postcloacal glands are the site of scent mark production.