Abstract

ELIZALDE-ARELLANO, Cynthia; URIA-GALICIA, Esther  and  LOPEZ-VIDAL, Juan Carlos. Estructura anatómica e histológica de la lengua del murciélago frugívoro Centurio senex (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae). Acta Zool. Mex [online]. 2004, vol.20, n.3, pp.31-37. ISSN 2448-8445.

The anatomy and histology of the tongue of Centurio senex, a frugivorous bat, were reviewed to look for any special structure associated to its feeding habit, and to compare it with other bat species with different alimentary habits, documented in other manuscripts. The tongue is short and rounded shape, on its surface there are numerous short single-pointed papillae on the first half, and large papillae at the middle of the surface; near the tip there is a small group of bicuspid papillae; fungiform and circumvallate papillae are absent. Histologically at the part of the tongue, there is a septum with one symmetrical pair of veins, arteries, and nerves at both sides of it, this particular arrangement indicates the intraoral use of this tongue. There are some lymphatic vessels among the muscle fibers, which are the first record of this kind of structures in the tongues of bats; also lymphatic nodules were found similar of those present in Balantiopteryx plicata. The large single-pointed papillae and the lymphatic vessels and nodules are the only specialized structures found in this bat species.

Keywords : Centurio senex; anatomy; histology; tongue; limphoid tissue.

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