Affiliation:
1. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences
Abstract
The question of the size ratio of the body and the digestive tract (DT) in small phytophagous mammals is considered on the example of gerbils (Gerbillidae), a group of rodents that is exceptionally convenient for studying such relationships due to significant differences in body weight and morphological homogeneity of the DT. We analyzed the weight ratios of body size and DT, wet weight of contents and tissues of DT in 6 species of gerbils with a 10-fold body weight range (average 18 to 175 g) coexisting in the Negev desert – Psammomys obesus, Meriones crassus, Gerbillus pyramidum, Gerbillus allenbyi, Gerbillus dasyurus Gerbillus henleyi. In a number of studied species of small mammals weighing less than 0.5 kg, no linear relationship was found between body size and DT. The allometry of the considered indicators is mainly due to environmental and physiological factors.
Publisher
The Russian Academy of Sciences