Orofacial morphology and feeding behaviour of the dugong, Amazonian, West African and Antillean manatees (Mammalia: Sirenia): functional morphology of the muscular-vibrissal complex

2003 ◽  
Vol 259 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher D. Marshall ◽  
Hiroshi Maeda ◽  
Matsumitsu Iwata ◽  
Masami Furuta ◽  
Shiro Asano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Morphology ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
West African ◽  
Antillean Manatees

scholarly journals Going underwater: multiple origins and functional morphology of piercing-sucking feeding and tracheal system adaptations in water scavenger beetle larvae (Coleoptera: Hydrophiloidea)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgina Rodriguez ◽  
Martin Fikáček ◽  
Yȗsuke N Minoshima ◽  
Miguel Archangelsky ◽  
Patricia L M Torres
Keyword(s):  
Functional Morphology ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Sem Analysis ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Aquatic Habitats ◽  
Tracheal System ◽  
Multiple Origins ◽  
Key Innovation ◽  
Evolutionary Aspects ◽  
Character Mapping

Abstract Larvae of water scavenger beetles (Coleoptera: Hydrophiloidea) are adapted to a wide variety of aquatic habitats, but little is known about functional and evolutionary aspects of these adaptations. We review the functional morphology and evolution of feeding strategies of larvae of the families Hydrophilidae and Epimetopidae based on a detailed scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, analysis of video records of feeding behaviour and observations of living larvae. There are two main types of feeding mechanisms: chewing and piercing-sucking. The character mapping using the latest phylogenetic hypothesis for Hydrophiloidea infers the chewing system as the ancestral condition. The piercing-sucking mechanism evolved at least four times independently: once in Epimetopidae (Epimetopus) and three times in Hydrophilidae (Berosini: Berosus + Hemiosus; Laccobiini: Laccobius group; Hydrobiusini: Hybogralius). The piercing-sucking apparatus allows underwater extra-oral digestion and decreases the dependence of larvae on an aerial environment. A detailed study of the tracheal morphology of the piercing-sucking lineages reveals four independent origins of the apneustic respiratory system, all of them nested within lineages with piercing-sucking mouthparts. We conclude that piercing-sucking mouthparts represent a key innovation, which allows for the subsequent adaptation of the tracheal system, influences the diversification dynamics of the lineages and allows the shift to new adaptive zones.

Morphology of gastric mills and mandibles of New Guinean parastacid crayfishes, with comparisons with other Astacidea (Decapoda)

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 692-703
Author(s):  
Tadashi Kawai ◽  
Jiří Patoka
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Coral Reefs ◽  
Functional Morphology ◽  
Deep Sea ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Morphological Features ◽  
Internal Morphology ◽  
The Family

Abstract Knowledge of the morphological features of crayfishes native to New Guinea is limited in many cases, the internal morphology, gastric mills, and mandibles of six species of Cherax species (Decapoda: Astacidea: Parastacidae) from this island were described and illustrated. The measurements were compared with those of parastacid crayfish from Madagascar and New Zealand, with Enoplometopoidea from coral reefs, and Nephropidea from deep sea. Characters peculiar to the family Parastacidae were found both in gastric mills and mandibles, and differences between the morphology of mandibles in freshwater and marine species from the infraorder Astacidea were found. Relationships between functional morphology and feeding behaviour were discussed.

scholarly journals Feeding behaviour and diet selection by West African Dwarf Goats (short communication)

2000 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Odeyinka
Keyword(s):  
Analysis Of Variance ◽  
Feed Intake ◽  
Feeding Behaviour ◽  
Diet Selection ◽  
West African ◽  
The Other ◽  
Fruiting Bodies ◽  
West African Dwarf ◽  
West African Dwarf Goats ◽  
Dwarf Goats

Abstract. Sixteen West African Dwarf Goats (WADG) were used to study the feeding behaviour and diet selection. The animals were offered freshly cut stems with leaves and fruiting bodies of Gliricidia sepium, Leucaena leueoeephala and Panicum maximum. The feeding behaviour of the goats was observed and recorded whilst the preference of the animals for each diet was also monitored. Data were collected on feed intake, number of bites per minutes, and preference for each of the forages. The data on feed intake were subjeeted to one-way analysis of variance. Within 30 minutes into the feeding period, it was observed that the goats concentrated on Leucaena leueoeephala which they stmggled over for favoured positions leading to horn locking. The animals first smelt the different plants took a bite before concentrating on a particular forage. The animals usually consumed fruiting bodies and leaves of leucaena before eating the other two forages. The mean number of bites per goat per minute was 10, 8 and 6 for gliricidia, leucaena and panicum respectively. The animals exhibited bi-pedal stance during feeding. Analysis of variance showed forage intake to be significantly different (P < 0.05) among the forages. Proximate analysis of the three forages indicated that leucaena had a higher quantity of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and ether extract. (EE) compared to the other two forages, while panicum had higher CF, lower CP, ash and EE content compared to gliricidia and leucaena.

Functional significance of preserved color patterns of mollusks from the Gosport Sand (Eocene) of Alabama

1988 ◽  
Vol 62 (01) ◽  
pp. 83-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia H. Kelley ◽  
Charles T. Swann
Keyword(s):  
Functional Morphology ◽  
Functional Significance ◽  
Intraspecific Variability ◽  
Color Pattern ◽  
Color Patterns ◽  
Historical Factors ◽  
Life Mode ◽  
Molluscan Fauna ◽  
Excellent Preservation ◽  
Architectural Constraints

The excellent preservation of the molluscan fauna from the Gosport Sand (Eocene) at Little Stave Creek, Alabama, has made it possible to describe the preserved color patterns of 15 species. In this study the functional significance of these color patterns is tested in the context of the current adaptationist controversy. The pigment of the color pattern is thought to be a result of metabolic waste disposal. Therefore, the presence of the pigment is functional, although the patterns formed by the pigment may or may not have been adaptive. In this investigation the criteria proposed by Seilacher (1972) for testing the functionality of color patterns were applied to the Gosport fauna and the results compared with life mode as interpreted from knowledge of extant relatives and functional morphology. Using Seilacher's criteria of little ontogenetic and intraspecific variability, the color patterns appear to have been functional. However, the functional morphology studies indicate an infaunal life mode which would preclude functional color patterns. Particular color patterns are instead interpreted to be the result of historical factors, such as multiple adaptive peaks or random fixation of alleles, or of architectural constraints including possibly pleiotropy or allometry. The low variability of color patterns, which was noted within species and genera, suggests that color patterns may also serve a useful taxonomic purpose.

Nature of ergastic substances in some West African Compositae

1988 ◽  
Vol 99 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 143-145
Author(s):  
L. S. Gill ◽  
I. D. Omoigui
Keyword(s):  
West African
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