Morphological aspects of the digestive tract of insectivorous bats of the species Molossus rufus (E. Geoffroy, 1805)

Abstract

Five male specimens of the species Molossus rufus from north‐western Parana were captured, identified, packaged and transported to the laboratory for weighing and later euthanasia with isoflurane. They were laparatomized for evaluation of macroscopic characteristics and the digestive tube segments were collected for fixation in 10% neutral formalin for histological processing, after 48 h of fixation. Macroscopically, the digestive tube had an oesophageal segment in the abdominal cavity, with a J‐shaped saccular stomach, in addition to a small intestine divided into duodenum, jejunum‐ileum and terminal ileum. In the large intestine, an organ dilatation was observed from the small intestine with a one‐way oral‐aboral ending in the anus, which was called the descending colon. Morphological similarity of the walls of all segments with those of other mammals was observed; however, it presented some peculiarities such as the absence of oesophageal glands, Brunner in the intestine, cecum and appendages. The anatomical disposition and tissue pattern were similar to that found in other insectivorous species. The adaptations of the digestive tube of this species are possibly due to the insectivorous feeding habits, which can be impacted due to anthropic actions in foraging environments.

Full text

Acta Zoologica. 2023;104:497–505. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/azo
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497
© 2022 Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
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INTRODUCTION
Bats are the only flying mammals, being referred to as the
most important animals recognized for the entire ecosys-
tem, a fact attributed to the great variety of feeding habits,
which make them the biggest dispersers of seeds, pollen
grains and, mainly, because they perform a biological
control of paramount importance against flying insects, a
control that is reflected even in public health (Bianconi
et al.,2004; Sazima et al.,1982).
In comparative studies of the morphology of the diges-
tive tract, bats have much shorter intestines, when com-
pared to other mammals (Forman,1979), and among bats
of different species, this morphological difference was
attributed to different feeding habits. Frugivorous species
have longer intestines when compared to insectivorous
and hematophagous bats (Eisentraut,1950; Robin,1881).
According to work by Peracchi et al. (2006), the bats
of the Molossidae family have exclusively insectivorous
feeding habits, whereas Almeida et al. (2015) bats of
Received: 14 May 2022
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Revised: 7 June 2022
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Accepted: 16 June 2022
DOI: 10.1111/azo.12432
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Morphological aspects of the digestive tract of insectivorous
bats of the species Molossus rufus (E. Geoffroy, 1805)
EdsonGeronimo1
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Paula M.Favetta1
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Gustavo C.Palin2
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Wesley A.Trindade1
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Grazielli F.Serenini1
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Lisiane A.Martins3
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Luciana K.Otutumi1
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Ricardo M.Germano1
1Postgraduate Program in Animal
Science with an Emphasis on Bioactive
Products, UNIPAR, Umuarama, Brazil
2Veterinarian, UNIPAR, Umuarama,
Brazil
3Professor of the Veterinary Medicine
Course at the Santa Bárbara College of
Higher Education, FAESB, São Paulo,
Brazil
Correspondence
Paula M. Favetta, Postgraduate Program
in Animal Science with an Emphasis
on Bioactive Products, UNIPAR,
Umuarama, Paraná, Brazil.
Email: nutripaulafavetta@gmail.com
Abstract
Five male specimens of the species Molossus rufus from north- western Parana
were captured, identified, packaged and transported to the laboratory for weigh-
ing and later euthanasia with isoflurane. They were laparatomized for evaluation
of macroscopic characteristics and the digestive tube segments were collected for
fixation in 10% neutral formalin for histological processing, after 48 h of fixation.
Macroscopically, the digestive tube had an oesophageal segment in the abdomi-
nal cavity, with a J- shaped saccular stomach, in addition to a small intestine di-
vided into duodenum, jejunum- ileum and terminal ileum. In the large intestine,
an organ dilatation was observed from the small intestine with a one- way oral-
aboral ending in the anus, which was called the descending colon. Morphological
similarity of the walls of all segments with those of other mammals was observed;
however, it presented some peculiarities such as the absence of oesophageal
glands, Brunner in the intestine, cecum and appendages. The anatomical dispo-
sition and tissue pattern were similar to that found in other insectivorous spe-
cies. The adaptations of the digestive tube of this species are possibly due to the
insectivorous feeding habits, which can be impacted due to anthropic actions in
foraging environments.
KEYWORDS
Chiropters, digestive tube, eating habits, insectivorous, Mollossids