. The Ecology of arboreal folivores : a symposium held at the Conservation and Research Center, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, May 29-31, 1975 . Figure 5. Cecum and colon of Avahi laniger, ventral view. (From Primates. Comparative Anatomy and Taxonomy (1953) Volume 1, page 591. Hill. By courtesy of the author). Primate indriids These Madagascan primates compose a family of 3 genera, Propithecus, Avahi, and Indri. They are arboreal and strictly vegetarian in the wild, feeding on leaves and buds with lesser amounts of fruit and nuts (Hill, 1953). They, thus, occupy a d
. The Ecology of arboreal folivores : a symposium held at the Conservation and Research Center, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, May 29-31, 1975 . Figure 5. Cecum and colon of Avahi laniger, ventral view. (From Primates. Comparative Anatomy and Taxonomy (1953) Volume 1, page 591. Hill. By courtesy of the author). Primate indriids These Madagascan primates compose a family of 3 genera, Propithecus, Avahi, and Indri. They are arboreal and strictly vegetarian in the wild, feeding on leaves and buds with lesser amounts of fruit and nuts (Hill, 1953). They, thus, occupy a dietary posi- tion in the tropical forests of Madagascar similar to that of the Colobidae in Africa and Asia and the howler monkeys in tropical America (Walker, 1964). The alimentary tract of the Indiidae is extremely capacious and complex (Hill, 1953). Although the stomach has a simple structure, it is large, presumably serving as a storage organ for the bulky diet. The in- testine is relatively long; in Propithecus it is 9 times and in Avahi 14 times the body length. The whole of the posterior region of the abdomen is occupied by the coils of the enormous cecum and colon. In adult animals the greatly sacculated cecum (Figure 5) is longer than the body length. The colon is not sac- culated, but the proximal portion is wide and coiled in a complex manner, with similarities to the hyper- trophied spiral colon of ruminants (Hill, 1953). The importance of the cecum and colon in the Indriidae is emphasized further by the complex blood supply, with the mesenteric arteries being greatly hypertro- phied and split up in a plexiform manner. The great capacity of the large gut and the known diet of these primates would indicate a major role for fermentative digestion which could continue well into the colon. The complex coiled structure of the colon together with the excellent blood supply would pro- vide ample opportunity for absorption of bacterial fermentation products. Digestion of Le
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