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Evidence from the oestrous cycle for male-induced ovulation in Bettongia penicillata (Marsupialia)

Summary. Female brush-tailed bettongs (Bettongia penicillata) housed in a breeding group of one male and one to three females had an average gestation period of 21.2 days (n = 58) and parturition was followed within 24 h by oestrus and mating. If a young was not born as a result of the mating, oestrus recurred after about 21·7 days (n = 12). From removal of pouch young to birth was 17·5 days, on average (n = 85), in females that had mated post partum, but most females that were isolated from a male before parturition returned to oestrus about 6·6 days after simultaneous removal of pouch young and return to the male (n = 9). Females housed in female-only groups appeared not to come into oestrus or to do so irregularly. These females, when returned to the male, usually came into oestrus within 10 days. These data provide evidence that, in most females of B. penicillata, ovulation does not occur in the absence of a male and that previously isolated females return to oestrus within 10 days of return to the male.

Keywords: gestation period; marsupial reproduction; brush-tailed bettong