BIO2242 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Hindgut Fermentation, Short-Chain Fatty Acid, Hindgut
Document Summary
They have a protective cell wall which makes it difficult to digest. The energy you want to get is bound up in molecules of cellulose, and there are no vertebrates that can produce cellulose themselves. Many plants produce secondary chemicals that inhibit the digestion of many materials within the cell. In order to break the protective cell wall, most herbivores have complex dentitions. Selenodont = half-mooned shaped, crescent shaped on each tooth. In herbivores, the two jaws come down at the same time, so the teeth on the upper and lower jaws meet at the same time. Herbivores have reduced temporalis muscles (muscles at the top, that pull upwards) and large massatar muscles, which are muscles that pull to the side. They chew by moving their lower jaw sideways. The sheep is a foregut fermenter, it has an enlarged stomach, with many compartments, it has a very long midgut, a relatively large hindgut with a lot of foldings.