The macroscopic intestinal anatomy of a lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris)

Hagen, Katharina B; Müller, Dennis; Wibbelt, Gudrun; Ochs, Andreas; Hatt, Jean‐Michel; Clauss, Marcus

doi:10.1007/s10344-014-0870-8

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…These findings raise the question about the physiological relevance of the two prominent isthmi in the horse's large intestine. These anatomical features, typically interpreted as delay structures, have been documented in domestic and wild equids , including donkeys (Jerbi, Rejeb, Erdoğan, & Pérez, 2014), and also in tapirs (Hagen et al, 2015). In contrast, they are absent in the third group of the perissodactyls, the rhinoceroses and also absent elephants (Clauss et al, 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Comparative selective retention of particle size classes in the gastrointestinal tract of ponies and goats

Hummel

Scheurich

Ortmann

et al. 2017

Animal Physiology Nutrition

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There is a discrepancy in the literature on potential digesta separation mechanisms in horses, with both a selective retention of fine and of large particles postulated in different publications. To assess the net effect of such mechanisms, we fed ponies on a hay-only diet a pulse dose of whole (unchopped) marked hay together with a solute marker, collected faeces on a regular basis, measured marker concentrations in whole faeces and in their large (2.0-16 mm), medium (0.5-1.0 mm) and small (0.063-0.25 mm) particle fraction, and calculated the corresponding mean retention times (MRTs). For comparison, the same experiment was performed in goats. In goats, as expected, MRT (35 hr) was significantly shorter than MRT (51 hr); only a very small fraction of particle marker was excreted as large particles (2%); and the MRT of these large particles was significantly shorter than that of small particles (with a relevant difference of 8.6 hr), indicating that those few large particles that escape the rumen do so mostly soon after ingestion. In ponies, MRT (24 hr) did not differ from MRT (24 hr); a higher fraction of particle marker was excreted as large particles (5%); and the MRT of these large particles was longer than that of small particles (but with a non-relevant difference of less than 1 hr). These results indicate that no relevant net separation of digesta phases occurs in horses and that selective particle retention mechanisms in the large intestine are unlikely to represent important characteristics of the horse's digestive physiology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Comparative selective retention of particle size classes in the gastrointestinal tract of ponies and goats

Hummel

Scheurich

Ortmann

et al. 2017

Animal Physiology Nutrition

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“…Nutrient requirements of wild animal species are largely unknown and how they are fed is based on a "model" species for which there is already an understanding of their nutritional needs. Often domestic models such as dogs (Bellanger et al, 2015), cats (Vester et al, 2010), swine (Tajima & Aminov, 2015), poultry (Wilkinson, Bradbury, Thomson, Bedford, & Cowieson, 2014), rat (Robbins, 2012), horse (Hagen et al, 2015;Johnson, 2014), rhesus macaque (O'Sullivan et al, 2013), duck (Robbins, 2012), mink (Diez-Leon & Mason, 2016, goat (Weiss, Schook, & Wolfe, 2014), and sheep (Gattiker et al, 2014) are used. Choice of model species will depend on phylogenetic relatedness, similarity in feeding ecology and digestive morphology and physiology.…”

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confidence: 99%

Feeding Asian pangolins: An assessment of current diets fed in institutions worldwide

Cabana¹,

Plowman

Nguyen

et al. 2017

Zoo Biology

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Pangolins are ant specialists which are under intense threat from the illegal wildlife trade. Nutrition has notoriously been their downfall in captivity and is still an issue in regards to rescue and rehabilitation. We analyzed the nutrient content of diets used by institutions that are successfully keeping Asian pangolins and to assess the variety of the ingredients and nutrients, compared these with the nutritional requirements of potential nutritional model species. We performed intake studies at five institutions and also had data from three other institutions. We also analyzed five different wild food items to use as a proxy of wild diet. We observed two categories of captive diets: those mostly or completely composed of insects and those high in commercial feeds or animal meat. Nutrient values were broad and there was no clear rule. The non-protein energy to protein energy ratio of the diets were much higher than the wild food items, more so for those which receive less insects. The average contribution of carbohydrate, fat and protein energy were also further away from the wild samples the less insects they contained. The previously suggested nutritional model for pangolins is the domestic dog which is supported by our relatively large nutrient ranges of apparently successful diets, however due to their highly carnivorous nature; the upper most nutrient intake data are not consistent with this and favor the feline nutrient recommendations. We are unable to render a conclusion of what model is more appropriate based on our data collected.

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“…Like other perissodactyls, tapir are hindgut fermenters [13]. Tapirs are browsers [14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chewing, dental morphology and wear in tapirs (Tapirus spp.) and a comparison of free-ranging and captive specimens

et al. 2020

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Feeding practice in herbivorous mammals can impact their dental wear, due to excessive or irregular abrasion. Previous studies indicated that browsing species display more wear when kept in zoos compared to natural habitats. Comparable analyses in tapirs do not exist, as their dental anatomy and chewing kinematics are assumed to prevent the use of macroscopic wear proxies such as mesowear. We aimed at describing tapir chewing, dental anatomy and wear, to develop a system allowing comparison of free-ranging and captive specimens even in the absence of known age. Video analyses suggest that in contrast to other perissodactyls, tapirs have an orthal (and no lateral) chewing movement. Analysing cheek teeth from 74 museum specimens, we quantified dental anatomy, determined the sequence of dental wear along the tooth row, and established several morphometric measures of wear. In doing so, we showcase that tapir maxillary teeth distinctively change their morphology during wear, developing a height differential between less worn buccal and more worn lingual cusps, and that quantitative wear corresponds to the eruption sequence. We demonstrate that mesowear scoring shows a stable signal during initial wear stages but results in a rather high mesowear score compared to other browsing herbivores. Zoo specimens had lesser or equal mesowear scores as specimens from the wild; additionally, for the same level of third molar wear, premolars and other molars of zoo specimens showed similar or less wear compared specimens from the wild. While this might be due to the traditional use of non-roughage diet items in zoo tapirs, these results indicate that in contrast to the situation in other browsers, excessive tooth wear appears to be no relevant concern in ex situ tapir management.

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The macroscopic intestinal anatomy of a lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris)

Cited by 9 publications

References 21 publications

Comparative selective retention of particle size classes in the gastrointestinal tract of ponies and goats

Comparative selective retention of particle size classes in the gastrointestinal tract of ponies and goats

Feeding Asian pangolins: An assessment of current diets fed in institutions worldwide

Chewing, dental morphology and wear in tapirs (Tapirus spp.) and a comparison of free-ranging and captive specimens

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