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X‐Radiographic Observations of Food Passage through Digestive Tracts of Lemon Sharks
Author(s) -
Wetherbee Bradley M.,
Gruber Samuel H.,
Ramsey Anna L.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
transactions of the american fisheries society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1548-8659
pISSN - 0002-8487
DOI - 10.1577/1548-8659(1987)116<763:xoofpt>2.0.co;2
Subject(s) - digestive tract , ingestion , meal , biology , alimentary tract , food intake , food consumption , barium meal , zoology , food science , medicine , endocrinology , agricultural economics , economics
The time required for a meal to be completely eliminated from the digestive tract of the lemon shark Negaprion brevirostris was determined X‐radiographically, with barium sulfate as a contrast medium. Two food markers and X‐radiography showed that initial voidance of fecal matter began 16–17 h after feeding. Alimentary tracts emptied completely within 68–82 h after food ingestion. Passage of a meal through the digestive tract took substantially longer than in most teleosts. A slow rate of food passage may contribute to the low consumption of food and slow growth that have been observed for the lemon shark.