|
Cecotrope
Cecotropes (also caecotropes, cecotrophs, caecotrophs, cecal pellets, soft feces, or night feces) are a nutrient-filled package created in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that is expelled and eaten by many animals (such as rabbits, guinea pigs, mice, hamsters, and chinchillas) to obtain more nutrients out of their food. When food passes through the GI tract the first time, the stomach and the small intestine digest the food material, which then moves into the colon, where the food particles are sorted by size. The smaller particles of fiber are moved into the cecum where they are fermented by microbes. This creates useable nutrients which are stored and expelled in cecotropes. The nutrients from the cecotropes are absorbed in the small intestine. The nutrients gained from cecotrophy include short-chain fatty acids, vitamin B, sodium, potassium, amino acids, and protein. Lagomorphs (a grouping including rabbits, hares, and pikas) are perhaps the most well-known for producing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guinea Pig
The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy ( ), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus ''Cavia'', family Caviidae. Animal fancy, Breeders tend to use the name "cavy" for the animal, but "guinea pig" is more commonly used in scientific and laboratory contexts. Despite their name, guinea pigs are not native to Guinea (region), Guinea, nor are they closely related to suidae, pigs. Instead, they originated in the Andes region of South America, where wild guinea pigs can still be found today. Studies based on biochemistry and DNA Hybrid (biology), hybridization suggest they are domestication, domesticated animals that do not exist naturally in the wild, but are descendants of a closely related cavy species such as ''Montane guinea pig, C. tschudii''. Originally, they were domesticated as livestock (source of meat) in the Andean region and are still consumed in some parts of the world. In Western society, the guin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lagomorpha
The lagomorphs () are the members of the taxonomic order Lagomorpha, of which there are two living families: the Leporidae (rabbits and hares) and the Ochotonidae ( pikas). There are 110 recent species of lagomorph, of which 109 species in twelve genera are extant, including ten genera of rabbits (42 species); one genus of hare (33 species) and one genus of pika (34 species). The name of the order is derived from the Ancient Greek (, "hare") + (, "form"). Taxonomy and evolutionary history Other names used for this order, now considered synonymous, include: ''Duplicidentata'' (Illiger, 1811); ''Leporida'' (Averianov, 1999); ''Neolagomorpha'' (Averianov, 1999); ''Ochotonida'' (Averianov, 1999); and ''Palarodentia'' (Haeckel, 1895; Lilian, 2016). The evolutionary history of the lagomorphs is still not well understood. In the late 20th century, it was generally agreed that '' Eurymylus'', which lived in eastern Asia and dates back to the late Paleocene or early Eocene, was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated form of livestock, and a pet, having a widespread effect on ecologies and cultures. The most widespread rabbit genera are '' Oryctolagus'' and '' Sylvilagus''. The former, ''Oryctolagus'', includes the European rabbit, ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'', which is the ancestor of the hundreds of breeds of domestic rabbit and has been introduced on every continent except Antarctica. The latter, ''Sylvilagus'', includes over 13 wild rabbit species, among them the cottontails and tapetis. Wild rabbits not included in ''Oryctolagus'' and ''Sylvilagus'' include several species of limited distribution, including the pygmy rabbit, volcano rabbit, and Sumatran striped rabbit. Rabbits are a paraphyletic grouping, and do not constitute a clade, as ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coprophagy
Coprophagia ( ) or coprophagy ( ) is the consumption of feces. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek "feces" and "to eat". Coprophagy refers to many kinds of feces-eating, including eating feces of other species (heterospecifics), of other individuals (allocoprophagy), or one's own (autocoprophagy). Feces may be already deposited or taken directly from the anus. Some animal species eat feces as a normal behavior, whereas other species may eat feces under certain conditions. Coprophagia by plants Some carnivorous plants, such as pitcher plants of the genus '' Nepenthes'', obtain nutrition from the feces of commensal animals. Notable examples include '' Nepenthes jamban'', whose specific name is the Indonesian word for toilet. Manure is organic matter, mostly animal feces, that is used as organic fertilizer for plants in agriculture. Coprophagia by nonhuman animals By invertebrates Coprophagous insects consume and redigest the feces of large animals. These fec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pika
A pika ( , or ) is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal native to Asia and North America. With short limbs, a very round body, an even coat of fur, and no external tail, they resemble their close relative the rabbit, but with short, rounded ears. The large-eared pika of the Himalayas and nearby mountains lives at elevations of more than . The name ''pika'' appears to be derived from the Tungus ''pika'', and the scientific name ''Ochotona'' is derived from the Mongolian word ''ogotno, оготно'', which means pika. It is used for any member of the Ochotonidae (), a family within the order of lagomorphs, the order which also includes the Leporidae (rabbits and hares). They are the smallest animal in the lagomorph group. Only one genus, ''Ochotona'' ( or ), is extant within the family, covering 37 species, though many fossil genera are known. Another species, the Sardinian pika, belonging to the separate genus '' Prolagus'', has become extinct within the last 2,000 years owi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hare
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores and live Solitary animal, solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are precociality, able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The genus includes the largest Lagomorpha, lagomorphs. Most are fast runners with long, powerful hind legs, and large ears that dissipate body heat. Hare species are native to Africa, Eurasia and North America. A hare less than one year old is called a "leveret". Members of the ''Lepus'' genus are considered true hares, distinguishing them from rabbits which make up the rest of the Leporidae family. However, there are five leporid species with "hare" in their common names which are not considered true hares: the hispid hare (''Caprolagus hispidus''), and four species known as red rock hares (''Pronolagus''). Conversely, several ''Lepus'' species are called "jackrabbits", but classed as hares rather than rabbits. The p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruminant
Ruminants are herbivorous grazing or browsing artiodactyls belonging to the suborder Ruminantia that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally through microbial actions. The process, which takes place in the front part of the digestive system and therefore is called foregut fermentation, typically requires the fermented ingesta (known as cud) to be regurgitated and chewed again. The process of rechewing the cud to further break down plant matter and stimulate digestion is called rumination. The word "ruminant" comes from the Latin ''ruminare'', which means "to chew over again". The roughly 200 species of ruminants include both domestic and wild species. Ruminating mammals include cattle, all domesticated and wild bovines, goats, sheep, giraffes, deer, gazelles, and antelopes.Fowler, M.E. (2010).Medicine and Surgery of Camelids, Ames, Iowa: Wiley-Blackwell. Chapter 1 General Biology and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Common Ringtail Possum
The common ringtail possum (''Pseudocheirus peregrinus'', Greek for "false hand" and Latin for "pilgrim" or "alien") is an Australian marsupial. It lives in a variety of habitats and eats a variety of leaves of both native and introduced plants, as well as flowers, fruits and sap. This possum also consumes caecotropes, which is material fermented in the caecum and expelled during the daytime when it is resting in a nest. This behaviour is called caecotrophy and is similar to that seen in rabbits. Taxonomy The common ringtail possum is currently classified as one of the two living species in the genus '' Pseudocheirus''; the species of '' Pseudochirulus'' and other ringtail genera were formerly also classified in ''Pseudocheirus''. Several subspecies have been described: *''Pseudocheirus peregrinus pereginus'', the type subspecies based on a collection made at Endeavour River *''Pseudocheirus peregrinus convolutor'', (Eastern ringtail possum or Southeastern ringtail possum) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecum
The cecum ( caecum, ; plural ceca or caeca, ) is a pouch within the peritoneum that is considered to be the beginning of the large intestine. It is typically located on the right side of the body (the same side of the body as the appendix (anatomy), appendix, to which it is joined). The term stems from the Latin ''wikt:caecus, caecus'', meaning "blindness, blind". It receives chyme from the ileum, and connects to the ascending colon of the large intestine. It is separated from the ileum by the ileocecal valve (ICV), also called Bauhin's valve. It is also separated from the Large intestine#Structure, colon by the cecocolic junction. While the cecum is usually intraperitoneal, the ascending colon is Retroperitoneal space, retroperitoneal. In herbivores, the cecum stores food material where bacteria are able to break down the cellulose. In humans, the cecum is involved in absorption of Salt (chemistry), salts and Electrolyte, electrolytes and lubricates the solid waste that pas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbivores
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat non-vascular autotrophs such as mosses, algae and lichens, but do not include those feeding on decomposed plant matters (i.e. detritivores) or macrofungi (i.e. fungivores). As a result of their plant-based diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouth structures ( jaws or mouthparts) well adapted to mechanically break down plant materials, and their digestive systems have special enzymes (e.g. amylase and cellulase) to digest polysaccharides. Grazing herbivores such as horses and cattles have wide flat- crowned teeth that are better adapted for grinding grass, tree bark and other tougher lignin-containing materials, and many of them evolved rumination or cecotropic behaviors to better extract nutrients from plants. A l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gut Microbiota
Gut microbiota, gut microbiome, or gut flora are the microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses, that live in the digestive tracts of animals. The gastrointestinal metagenome is the aggregate of all the genomes of the gut microbiota. The gut is the main location of the human microbiome. The gut microbiota has broad impacts, including effects on colonization, resistance to pathogens, maintaining the intestinal epithelium, metabolizing dietary and pharmaceutical compounds, controlling immune function, and even behavior through the gut–brain axis. The microbial composition of the gut microbiota varies across regions of the digestive tract. The colon contains the highest microbial density of any human-associated microbial community studied so far, representing between 300 and 1000 different species. Bacteria are the largest and to date, best studied component and 99% of gut bacteria come from about 30 or 40 species. About 55% of the dry mass of feces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ileocecal Valve
In many Animalia, including humans, an ileocolic structure or problem is something that concerns the region of the gastrointestinal tract from the ileum to the large intestine, colon. In Animalia that have cecum, ceca, the ileocecal region is a subset of the ileocolic region, and the entire range can also be described as ileocecocolic, whereas in some Animalia, the ileocolic region contains no cecum, as the ileum joins the colon directly. Things that are ileocolic, ileocecal, or both include the following: * Ileocecal fold * Ileocecal/ileocolic intussusception (medical disorder), intussusception * Ileocecal valve * Ileocolic artery * Ileocolic lymph nodes * Ileocolic vein {{SIA, animals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
