. The Ecology of arboreal folivores : a symposium held at the Conservation and Research Center, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, May 29-31, 1975. Folivores; Forest ecology; Leaves; Mammals; Mammals. Figure 3. The indri (Indri, indri) is the largest of the living lemurs and the most folivorous among them. (Photo by J. J. Petter) Among the prosimian species, different aspects of gut morphology can be related to leaf-eating. Maxi- mum development of both the cecum and colon is found in the Indriidae (Hladik, 1967), while among Lepilemuridae, only the cecum is expanded. Body weig
. The Ecology of arboreal folivores : a symposium held at the Conservation and Research Center, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, May 29-31, 1975. Folivores; Forest ecology; Leaves; Mammals; Mammals. Figure 3. The indri (Indri, indri) is the largest of the living lemurs and the most folivorous among them. (Photo by J. J. Petter) Among the prosimian species, different aspects of gut morphology can be related to leaf-eating. Maxi- mum development of both the cecum and colon is found in the Indriidae (Hladik, 1967), while among Lepilemuridae, only the cecum is expanded. Body weight and diet in relation to the composition of the natural substances The adaptations to leaf-eating concerning gut and also tooth morphology (Kay and Hylander, 1978) have to match the environmental conditions. The different foodstuffs available in natural conditions have a range of composition (Table 2) fairly simi- lar in different environments. As a consequence, the range of body size of the prosimians, as well as higher primates, is in relation to the natural diet. The smallest species have diets yielding the maxi- mum energy, made up of insects and fruits. When- ever several sympatric species of primates include in- sects in their diet, an individual of any given species foraging in the same area can obtain approximately the same quantity of insects per unit time (Hladik and Hladik, 1969; Charles-Dominique, 1971). Thus the small species (60 to 250 g) like Galago demidovii, Arctocebus calabarensis, Loris tardigradus, etc., can fill their stomachs with insects. Larger species cannot obtain enough insects during 1 day (or 1 night) of foraging and they have to fill their stomachs with a complementary type of food, such as fruits, gums, or leaves. For example, Galago alleni, Perodicticus potto, Nycticebus coucang (body weight 200 g to 1000 g) or higher primates such as Saguinus geoffroyi (500 g) have a diet of insects and fruits. All of the small primates catch as many insects a
Size: 1553px × 1609px
Photo credit: © The Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookleafn, booksubjectleaves, booksubjectmammals
