Diploid-Triploid Mosaicism: An Unusual Phenomenon in Side-Necked Turtles (Platemys platycephala)
JOHN W. BICKHAM 1,
PRISCILLA K. TUCKER 1, and
JOHN M. LEGLER 2
1 Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station 77843-2258
2 Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112
Diploid and diploid-triploid mosaic individuals of Platemys platycephala were found in natural populations. In mosaic specimens, the blood, spleen, liver, and testis contained both diploid and triploid cells. The ratio of triploid to diploid cells was more variable among individuals than among somatic tissues within an individual. Only diploid cells underwent meiosis in males; haploid gametes were produced. There appears to be geographic variation for mosaicism in that only diploids were found in Bolivia, whereas diploids and diploid-triploid mosaics occured in Surinam.
Submitted on September 4, 1984
Accepted on December 7, 1984
