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Australian Mammalogy Australian Mammalogy Society
Journal of the Australian Mammal Society
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Description of the gastrointestinal tract and associated organs of the kultarr (Antechinomys laniger)

Hayley J. Stannard A B and Julie M. Old A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Native and Pest Animal Unit, School of Natural Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury Campus K8, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: h.stannard@uws.edu.au

Australian Mammalogy 35(1) 39-42 https://doi.org/10.1071/AM12003
Submitted: 13 January 2012  Accepted: 30 April 2012   Published: 26 October 2012

Abstract

This paper provides a macro- and microscopic description of the digestive tract of the kultarr (Antechinomys laniger), a small dasyurid marsupial. The digestive tract was simple, with no external differentiation between the small and large intestine, and lacked a caecum. Mean gross length of the kultarr digestive tract was 165.2 ± 32.1 mm. Microscopically, the tissues had cell types similar to those of other mammals. The new information will aid future post-mortem investigations of captive kultarrs and future studies of nutrition.

Additional keywords: dasyurid, digestive histology, digestive morphology, marsupial


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