Description of the gastrointestinal tract of five lemur species: Propithecus tattersalli, Propithecus verreauxi coquereli, Varecia variegata, Hapalemur griseus, and Lemur catta

Abstract

The objective of this project was to better define the similarities and differences in gastrointestinal morphology present in lemur species. Measurements of the gastrointestinal tract of lemurs were obtained at necropsy from the captive population at Duke University Primate Center. Measurements of body length and weight, as well as gastrointestinal length, were recorded from five prosimian species: Propithecus tattersalli, Propithecus verreauxi, Varecia variegata, Hapalemur griseus, and Lemur catta. Photographs and measurements were used to obtain illustrations. Preliminary results suggest differences in gastrointestinal morphology among lemur species that coincide with differences in diet. Distinct sacculations in either the cecum or the colon were present for H. griseus, L. catta, P. verreauxi, and P. tattersalli, but not for V. variegata. The Propithecus specimens possessed a much greater ratio of gastrointestinal length to body length than the other three species. A short, blunt cecum and a shortened and sacculated colon were unique characteristics of the H. griseus specimens. These differences correlate well with a dietary shift from consumption of large amounts of structural plant cell wall (Propithecus sp.) to consumption of variable or moderate amounts (H. griseus, L. catta, and V. variegata). They also suggest that captive groups would benefit from further diet refinement in captivity. Am. J. Primatol. 52:133–142, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Terrestriality and bacterial transfer: a comparative study of gut microbiomes in sympatric Malagasy mammals

“…In agreement with a prior survey of 59 mammalian host species [11], we found that bush pigs and cattle, both members of the foregut-fermenting Artiodactyla order, exhibited the greatest bacterial diversity, followed by the three lemur species with intermediate diversity, and finally carnivorous fossa with lowest bacterial richness. Given that sifaka and sportive lemurs, both folivorous hindgut fermenters [71,72], did not harbor significantly greater bacterial richness than brown lemurs, which are frugivorous with simple guts [73], we conclude that gut microbiome diversity among lemurs is shaped more by host phylogeny than by digestive physiology or diet.…”

“…The Eulemur clade are flexible frugivores [73], with high levels of folivory recorded in western populations during the dry season [79]. Propithecus and Lepilemur are both considered folivorous [71,[80][81][82], consuming leaves throughout the year [73,80,83] and fruit when available during the rainy season [43,73,80,84]. We found that the predicted functional composition of lemur microbiomes reflected differences in carbohydrate Fig.…”

Patterns of seasonality and group membership characterize the gut microbiota in a longitudinal study of wild Verreaux's sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi)

“…Additionally, SCFAs reduce intestinal pH, making conditions even more unfavorable for Bacteroidetes (Duncan, Louis, Thomson, & Flint, 2009). Microbial fermentation in sifakas mainly takes place in the caecum and colon (Campbell, Eisemann, Williams, & Glenn, 2000; Campbell et al., 1999) and fecal microbiota are likely to resemble the microbiota in these distal gut compartments. Nevertheless, in future studies, microbiota analyses should be combined with measurement of fecal SCFA content in order to rigorously test these hypotheses.…”

Differential fruit choice in two simpatric monkey species and frugivorous bats in southern Mexico

“…However, when there was a shortage of resources, only L. albigena and not C. ascanius, could continue feeding on hard cover fruits. In this sense, it is possible that only A. pigra may have consumed E. cyclocarpum fruits, as a result of having a stronger mandibular bone system, unlike A. geoffroyi (Campbell et al, 2000;Lambert et al, 2004;Fleagle, 2013). The relation between A. pigra and E. cyclocarpum could be an energetic cost result because the displacement through the trees searching for sufficient food, generates a higher energy consumption; E. cyclocarpum is a tree generally bigger and taller than the rest of the plant community.…”