ruminants and dentition Flashcards
what does the inestine of herbivores look like and why
long small inestine allowing enough time for digestion and absorbtion of nutrients.
describe the dentition of grazing herbivores
-inscisors on lower jaw only
-animal holds grass against dental pad and inscisors-canines slice through it.
-gap called diastema separates front teeth from side teeth-tongue and cheeks operate here.
-molars interlock
-lower jaw moves side to side due to its loose articulation producing a circular grinding action in a horizontal plane.
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what is the carnivore dentition like
sharp incisors.
-large canines
-premolars and molars have cusps which cut and crush.
-have a pair of specialized cheek teeth called carnassials which slide past each other sheering muscle off bone.
what are the jaw adaptations for a carnivore
lower jaw moves vertically not side to side
-jaw can be opened more widely
-jaw muscles are well developed and powerful.
-can grip preyu firmly and crush bone.
what do ruminants rely on to digest cellulose
mutualistic microbes to secrete the enzymes which live in the rumen.
what is the digestion pathway of a ruminant
mouth-rumen-reticulum-mouth-omasum-abomasum-small intestine-large intestine
what occurs in the mouth of ruminants
grass cut
-cud formed when mixed with saliva.
-swallowed down oesophagus to rumen
what happens in the rumen
food mixed with microbes which secrete enxymes o digest cellulose into glucose. This is fermented to organic acids that are absrobed into blood and form an energy source.The fermented grass passes to reticulum.
what happens in the reticulum
reformed into cud whcih is regurgitated to mouth for further chewing. It then passes to the omasum.
what happens in the omasum
water and organic acids are absorbed into blood.
what happens in the abomasum/true stomach
protein digested by pepsin.
how is a carnivore gut adapted for a high protein diet
shorter gut.
-larger stomach
-more acidic stomach to digest protein(trypsinogen is activated to trypsin here due to low PH).
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