Morphology of the accessory reproductive glands of some male Indian chiropterans.

The accessory glands of seven species of male chiropterans are described. The unpaired prostate and paired Cowper's glands occur in all the species. The seminal vesicles are present only in Cynopterus and Taphozous. The ampullary glands occur in all the species except Cynopterus sphinx. The presence of solid rounded bodies is a characteristic feature of the seminal vesicles of Cynopterus sphinx. The urethral gland is present in all the species except Taphozous and Rhinopoma; utriculus prostaticus was not seen in any of the species investigated. The study reveals that the male accessory glands show great diversity and remarkable differences are seen even between closely related species.