Developmental horizons in the pre-natal development of the Greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus)

The Greater cane rat (GCR, Thyronomys swinderianus) is a precocial rodent predominantly found within Africa. Economic and scientific interests have led to several research efforts towards the domestication and better understanding of the biology and development of this rodent. Despite these efforts, information on the pre-natal development of this rodent is currently lacking. This study characterises distinct developmental milestones including skin pigmentation, emergence and distributions of hairs, calvarium consistency, teeth eruption, development of appendages, sensory organs and external genitalia in the pre-natal GCR and assesses quantitative body parameters, that is body weight, body and crown-rump lengths across its entire gestation length (gestation days [GDs] 10-140). Using these external features, we provide baseline reference ontogenetic scales for GCR embryos and fetuses, employable for stage, age and sex estimation of the pre-natal GCR in future studies. We observed that the first evidence of an embryo was not seen before the end of the first trimester (GD50) and that the late second trimester (GD80-GD100) marks the transition from embryogenesis to fetogenesis in the GCR. As both events occur at a much later developmental time point when compared to precocial non-rodents including human, sheep and pig and slightly later when compared to other precocial rodents such as guinea pig, our data provide first indication that the pre-natal GCR development might be associated with a reproductive delay. Together, this study expands our knowledge of the development and biology of the GCR, which will improve reproductive and breeding management, and native species conservation of this hystricomorph mammal.