Abstract
Our data show that the Lesser Antillean fruit-eating bat (Brachyphylla cavernarum), which is endemic to the West Indies, is a monestrous, seasonal-breeding species. The microscopic and gross anatomical structure, function, and seasonal cyclicity of the testes and accessory sex glands are described and illustrated. Accessory sex glands undergo an annual cycle in synchrony with the testicular cycle. The accessory sex gland complex (prostate-seminal vesicle) and Cowper's glands secrete fructose, the concentration of which varies seasonally in direct proportion to glandular hypertrophy in apparent response to the level of circulating plasma testosterone. The penis lacks a bony ossicle (os penis or baculum), which is characteristic for other phyllostomids studied. Of interest is the observation that not all males are reproductively active at the same time, which may have implications for the behavioural ecology of this species.
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