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Anatomy of the cecum of the West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus (Mammalia, Sirenia)

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Summary

The anatomy of the cecum of the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) is described at the macroscopic and microscopic levels. The cecum possesses a voluminous corpus ceci with two lateral outpocketings; two diverticulae (cecal horns) extend from the corpus at the vicinity of the ileocecal junction. An ampulla ceci is found distal to the corpus ceci, the two compartments communicating via a wide-opened orifice. The most striking microscopic finding is the mucosal covering of a keratinized stratified squamous epithelium overlying the crypts of Lieberkühn.

An attempt is made to interpret the morphological observations in terms of the functional digestive process in the manatee, giving alternative suggestions concerning the significance of the cecum and colon in the nutritional status of the manatee.

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Abbreviations

A :

Ampulla ceci

CC :

Corpus ceci

CH :

Cecal horns

I :

Ileum

C :

Colon

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Anatomie und Zytobiologie, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, D-6300, Giessen, Federal Republic of Germany

    R. L. Snipes

  2. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Gainesville Station, Gainesville, FL, USA

    R. L. Snipes

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  1. R. L. Snipes
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The present investigation was supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (La 325/7-1)

The author is greatly indebted to the members of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Sirenia Project, Gainesville Station, Gainesville Florida: special thanks are extended to Dr. Thomas O'Shea for organizing this undertaking, to Cathy A. Beck and Robert K. Bonde for their generous hospitality, for allowing the author to participate in the salvaging project, which they carried out with great efficiency, and for help in collecting the material. Without this aid, this study could not have been completed

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Snipes, R.L. Anatomy of the cecum of the West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus (Mammalia, Sirenia). Zoomorphology 104, 67–78 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00312020

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00312020

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