The Alimentary Tract of African Bony-Tongue, <i>Heterotis niloticus</i> (Cuvier, 1829): Morphology Study
Maria Cristina Guerrera,
Marialuisa Aragona,
Marilena Briglia,
Caterina Porcino,
Kamel Mhalhel,
Marzio Cometa,
Francesco Abbate,
Giuseppe Montalbano,
Rosaria Laurà,
Maria Levanti,
Germana Germanà,
Giacomo Zaccone,
Krystyna Zuwala,
Michal Kuciel,
Antonino Germanà
Affiliations
Maria Cristina Guerrera
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Marialuisa Aragona
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Marilena Briglia
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Caterina Porcino
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Kamel Mhalhel
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Marzio Cometa
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Francesco Abbate
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Giuseppe Montalbano
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Rosaria Laurà
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Maria Levanti
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Germana Germanà
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Giacomo Zaccone
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
Krystyna Zuwala
Department of Comparative Anatomy, Institute of Zoology and Biomedical Research, Faculty of Biology, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, 30387 Krakòw, Poland
Michal Kuciel
Poison Information Centre, Department of Toxicology and Environmental Disease, Faculty of Medicine, Jagellonian University, Kopernika 15, 30501 Krakòw, Poland
Antonino Germanà
Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
A morphological study of the alimentary tract, from the oropharyngeal cavity to the rectum, including the attached glands, of African bony-tongue, Heterotis niloticus (Cuvier, 1829) was carried out by gross anatomy, and light microscope analysis. This study aimed to give a deeper knowledge of the alimentary tract morphological features of this species of commercial interest. H. niloticus is distinguished by individual morphological characteristics showing a digestive tract similar to that of reptiles and birds. Within the oropharyngeal cavity, two tubular structures with digitiform ends are arranged on both lateral sides of the triangular tongue. The oropharyngeal cavity connects the stomach by a short esophagus. This latter is adapted to mechanical trituration, and it is divided into a pars glandularis and a thick-walled pars muscularis. The gizzard flows into the anterior intestine and two blind pyloric appendages, which exhibit specific functions, including immune defense for the presence of secondary lymphoid organs. The anterior intestine continues with the middle and posterior tracts up into the rectum. According to the histological observations, all regions of the alimentary tract have common structural features, typical of hollow organs, with differences in the mucosa structure that reflects the different functions of the apparatus, from mouth to anus. Within this study, we provided the first basis for future studies on optimizing rearing conditions, feed conversion ratio, and the digestive capacity, improving the growth performance of this species, and ensuring its conservation.
