Alimentação e relações morfológicas com o aparelho digestivo do "curimbatá", Prochilodus lineatus (Valenciennes) (Osteichthyes, Prochilodontidae), de uma lagoa do Sul do Brasil

Some aspects of the feeding habits and the morphology of the digestive tracts of Prochilodus lineatus (Osteichthyes, Prochilo-dontidae) are investigated in Lagoa Dourada, Ponta Grossa, Paraná. A total of 102 specimens were caprured between April 1993 and April 1994. From each specimen, the following measurements were determined: total and standard length, weight, sex, length of abdominal cavity. Histological and anatomical analyses were performed on the buccal cavity, pharynx, stomach, and intestine. P. lineatus is a ilyophagous species with short and numerous incisiform teeth attached to the lips and no pharyngeal teeth. The gill rakers are thick, oblique, and laminate. This species has a "U" - ceacal -type of muscular stomach, with well developed mucosal folds. The submucosa of the pyloric region is composed of dense connective tissue and the muscular layer is well developed which characterize a gizzard-type. The intestine is greatly coiled occupying nearly al I the abdominal cavity. The folds of the anterior region are circular and vai var lobulated in the médium and posterior regions