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Intestine lengths of Southern African savanna rodents and insectivores: intra‐ and interspecific comparisons
Author(s) -
Korn Horst
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of zoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.915
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1469-7998
pISSN - 0952-8369
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1992.tb04448.x
Subject(s) - biology , insectivore , omnivore , interspecific competition , small intestine , zoology , herbivore , anatomy , ecology , predation , biochemistry
Comparative intestine lengths of 15 Southern African savanna rodents and insectivores are presented. Differences in relative intestine length (ratio between hind gut length to head/body length) between seasons were significant in Aethomys chrysophilus . In various species, breeding females, with their increased energy requirement, had hind gut lengths that were well above average. These females also accounted for the differences between sexes which were significant in two species ( Aethomys chrysophilus and A. namaquensis ). Within species no correlation was found between relative intestine length and body size (length and weight) of the animals. Between species the correlation was significant and the larger species had relatively longer intestines. Three groups can be distinguished according to the different feeding types of the species. The omnivorous Praomys natalensis has by far the longest intestine. It is followed by a group of species that can be considered as granivore/herbivore. The species that are partly or predominantly insectivorous have the shortest intestine. The results of the field study are found to be in agreement with reports from laboratory experiments concerning adaptations of intestine length to different environmental situations.