The comparative anatomy of the abdominal gastrointestinal tract of six species of African mole‐rats (Rodentia, Bathyergidae)

Abstract

The gastrointestinal tracts (GITs) of six species of African mole-rats (Bathyergidae) were compared. The aim was to provide a comprehensive anatomical comparison between the different species. The relative shape, length, and surface areas were taken into account to determine whether the GITs are phylogenetically constrained or exhibit anatomical adaptations in response to diets. In all six species the stomach was simple and glandular. With the exception of Heterocephalus glaber, the caecum was coiled in a flat spiral, the ascending colon was arranged in a loop of varying lengths, and a mucosal colonic papillary-lined groove was present in the ascending colon in all species. By contrast, the caecum in H. glaber was uncoiled, the ascending colon was not looped, and the groove was not papillated. A caeco-appendix was observed only in Bathyergus suillus and Georychus capensis. Hierarchical multivariate cluster analysis on the presence/absence of nine anatomical structures associated with the GIT of mole-rats revealed that H. glaber was anatomically the least similar of the six species (77.6% similarity) with respect to the nine GIT variables included. All Cryptomys species were the same (100% similarity), and two species B. suillus and G. capensis grouped together and were more similar to the Cryptomys genus (95% similarity) than they were to H. glaber. These findings support previous phylogenetic classifications. The voluminous caeco-colon in B. suillus may be explained by its ingestion of grasses in addition to below-ground storage organs of plants. We conclude that phylogeny and diet affect the GIT anatomy of the African mole rats studied here.