Male pseudohermaphroditism in a raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procynoides)

Abstract

A wild raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procynoides) which died due to a traffic accident on 18 October 2001, and was determined to be 4.5 years old, was examined. Visual appearance of the external genitalia in this animal showed to be female with a large penis-like clitoris protruding from the vulvar juncture. Visual examination of the internal genitalia revealed that the animal possessed both testes and uterus. Histological appearance of the removed gonads showed only Sertoli cells but no spermatogenesis. Using polymerase chain reaction with skin biopsy directed against the sex-determining region on the Y chromosome (SRY) gene, the genomic SRY gene was expressed as a single band and sequenced. Based on these findings, this raccoon dog was diagnosed as male pseudohermaphrodite.