The genus and species of Lygaeidae described and figured herein was obtained with several others from a squirrel's nest at Kodera, S. Nyanza Province, Kenya, East Africa, by Dr Garnham, Professor of Medical Protozoology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Dr Garnham's description of the animal occupying the nest, however, suggests that it was not a squirrel, but that it might...

Very little information is available to delineate the role of melatonin during the complex process of gestation in seasonally breeding mammals. The present study was aimed at understanding the physiology of gestation and fetal growth in relation to maternal hormonal levels, including melatonin, of a tropical seasonal breeder, Funambulus pennanti. Through assessment of the vaginal smear during b...

The efficacy of the newly developed anticoagulant rodenticide, difethialone was evaluated against various rodent species in laboratory and fields. Difethialone at 0.025% concentration in the form of loose bait (broken wheat and rice + veg. oil + garlic powder) gave absolute mortality in Rattus rattus, Mus musculus, Funambulus pennanti, and Meriones hurrianae during ‘no-choice’ tests in one day ...

Problem statement: The digestive tract of animals including rodents has taxonomic and ecologic importance due to its ability in adaptation for different environments. Whereas colon absorbs water and carbohydrates, it has a vital role ecologically and physiologically and enjoys different histological structures in different rodents with various diets. Approach: Different rodent specimens belong ...

Age-dependent declining level of melatonin induces free radical load and thereby deteriorates immune function. However, reports are lacking about age-dependent melatonin membrane receptor (MT1 & MT2) expression, their role in regulation of reactive nitrogen species (RNS) and eventually how they affect immunity of a tropical rodent F. pennanti. We checked MT1R, MT2R and iNOS expression in lympho...

PURPOSE Biological effects of X-ray irradiation and protection by melatonin on the immune status of a tropical rodent, Funambulus pennanti, was examined by estimating oxidative damage of peripheral blood and spleen and protection by melatonin treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS Seventy squirrels were divided into 4 sets of 25, 25, 10 and 10 having subdivisions into a total of eight groups. Squirr...

The reproductive biology encompassing phenology, floral biology, pollination and breeding systems, of Butea monosperma, a beautiful tree of the Indian subcontinent, was investigated in a protected dry, deciduous forest located in New Delhi. Phenological studies indicated that although the species shows a regular flowering season, all trees do not flower every year. Flowers are typically papilio...

Photoperiodic regulation of melatonin receptor types on target tissues, such as lymphatic organs, has never been explored for any seasonal breeder. In the present study, we accessed the high affinity membrane melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2 expression dynamics in lymphoid organs (i.e., spleen and thymus) of a seasonally breeding rodent Funambulus pennanti during two major reproductive phases (i...