Scanning Electron Microscopic Study on the Lingual Papillae in the Mongolian Gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus.

Abstract

The superficial structure of the tongue for the Mongolian gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus, were observed by scanning electron microscope. The external characters of tongue and the types of papillae (the filiform, fungiform, vallate and foliate papillae) were fundamentally much the same to other Muridae and Cricetidae. In this animal, the small filiform and the fungiform papillae were observed not only on the dorsal surface of the palatal part, but also on the under surface of the anterior free part where there is no papilla in other rodents. The foliate papillae, furthermore, had well-developed von Ebner glands which opened into the bottom of the furrows. It is considered that these characters point to the adaptation to live in sandy deserts.

SEM Study on the Dorsal Lingual Surface of Microtus Montebelli

“…The surface of the radix zone was smooth and without lingual papillae. One vallate papillae also were found in the tongues of the rats (Iwasaki et al, 1997), mouse (Iwasaki et al, 1987), mongolian gerbils (Kobayashi et aL, 1988) and squirrel monkeys (Iwasaki et al, 1988). Considering the number of the vallate papillae on the tongue surface, it is possible to suggest that the number of the vallate papillae may be different among the species.…”

Scanning Electron Microscopic Study on the Lingual Papillae in the Manchurian Chipmunk, Tamias sibiricus asiaticus

“…Scanning electron microscopical studies of the lingual papillae in rodents have been performed on the rat (Yoshioka et al, 1976), mouse (Yoshioka et al, 1975), golden hamster (Fujita et al, 1982), Chinese hamster (Kobayashi et al , 1983b), old world harvest mouse (Kobayashi et al , 1983a) and Mongolian gerbil (Iwasaki et al , 1984, Kobayashi et al, 1988 etc. In these species, four types of the papillae were distributed in each definite area on the dorsal and lateral surface of the tongue.…”

“…In particular, Sonntag (1920) reported on the morphology of lingual papillae, those were the filiform, fungiform, vallate, and foliate ones, and on those variations and the differences of the number of vallate papillae by species. Despite studie of tongue papillae in Rodentia have been reported by many workers (Tuckermann, 1890; Sonntag, 1924;Kubota and Togawa, 1966;Kobayashi et al, 1983aKobayashi et al, , 1983bKobayashi et al, , 1988, there were few reports of the Sciuridae (Munch, 1896; Tuckermann, 1890), and no scanning electron microscopic study.…”