Comparative morphology and ecomorphology of the gut in European cyprinids (Telostei)

Abstract

The patterns ofcoiling of the gut were compared in 22 species of Eurasian Cyprinidae. In selected species, also the length of gut and mucosal surface structure were compared. Piscivorous (Aspius u.spiu.s). planktivorous (Ahramis hullerus) fishes as well as species feeding mainly on plankton and wind-borne ' drift ' (Alburnus alburnus, Pelecus cullrarus) have the relatively shortest guts, with only a single loop. The same simple arrangement of a short gut is present in many euryphagous species with more or less carnivorous tendencies (Abrumis scipa, Alhurnoides bipunctatus, Ahramis hruma. Bliccu hjoerkna. Chalcalhurnus chalcoides men to. Gohio gohio, Leuciscuy cephalus. Luuciscus Ieuciscus, Rutilirs rulilus, Scardinius erythrophthalmus. Tinca tinca. Vimhu vimba). Some benthivorous winnowers (oropharyngeal sorters) and species with herbivorous feeding tendencies have relatively long guts showing a more complex pattern of loops and coils (Barhus harhus. Cumssius carassius, Chondrostoma nasus. Ctenophuryngodon idelia, Cyprinus carpio). The goldfish, Curassius auratus, has the most complex coils. Scanning electron microscopy of the mucosal surface revealed five types of folding in the intestinal bulb which were only loosely related to feeding: I. smooth surface (Aspius aspius, Leuciscus cephalus, Vimha vintba); 2, irregularly branching folds (Alhurnus alburnus, Barbus barhus, Blicca bjoerknu, Chalcalhurnus chalcoides mento, Luuciscirs Ieuciscus, Rutilus rutilus. Scardinius erythrophthalmus); 3, curl-like folds (Tincu tinca); 4, nct-like folding pattern (Ahramis brama); 5. honeycomb-like mucosal structure (Cyprinus carpio).

Anatomia Funcional e Morfometria do Intestino no Teleostei (Pisces) de Água Doce Surubim (Pseudoplatystoma coruscans- Agassiz, 1829)

“…Considerações similares foram feitas por MENIN (1988), LOGATO (1995) e GOMIDE (1996) para espécies estudadas. Enquanto alguns autores procuram relacionar o arranjo intestinal com os hábitos alimentares, outros, como AL-HUSSAINI (1949a), MORAIS FILHO e SCHUBART (1955), BÉRTIN (1958), DAS e MOITRA (1965 a, b), KAPOOR et al (1975), KHANNA (1961), SASTRY (1973), MENIN (1988), JUNGER et al (1989), LOGATO (1995), GOMIDE (1996) e MORAES et al (1997, afirmaram que o comprimento relativo do intestino dos peixes varia conforme o hábito alimentar, sendo que o intestino mais curto é encontrado mais freqüentemente nos carnívoros e o mais longo, nos herbívoros e iliófagos.…”

Feeding ecology of the Iberian cyprinid Barbus bocagei Steindachner, 1865 in a lowland river

“…Similar ontogenetic diet shifts have already been described for other Barbus species (Barak & Mohamed, 1982;Kumar eta/., 1986). As B. bocagei shows a positive allometric growth of the gut (M. F. Magalhiies, unpublished data) this diet shift may be related to the increase of gut passage time, and thus to the improvement of plant material assimilation (Junger et a/., 1989).…”

Relationship between morphology and diets of six neotropical loricariids

“…There was a direct relationship between the quantity of detritus in the diet and The former had a diet composed mostly of detritus, whereas the latter showed a high incidence of animal prey, which are presumably easier to digest (Bowen, 1983;Junger et al, 1989). However, it should be emphasized, that values for relative intestine length (especially in the case of R. aspera) were higher than those quoted in the literature for species with similar feeding habits (Py-Daniel, 1984;Leite et al, 1988;Junger et al, 1989;Kramer & Bryant, 1995). The shortest intestine was found in M. aculeatus, which has a well-developed stomach and conspicuous folds in the intestinal mucosa.…”