Summary
A conspicuous accumulation of taste buds occurs in the rostral part of the plica sublingualis (“frenal lamella”) of Alouatta and Aotus forming taste areas (area gustatoria) superficially situated in the oral mucous membrane. They are found in close vicinity to the orifices of the sublingual salivary glands, but are lacking in the aboral part of the plica sublingualis. They do not occur in all primate species studied. A taste area does not projects above the surface of the surrounding tissue like a papilla. The taste buds open not in crypts or furrows of the oral mucosa, but directly into the spatium sublinguale of the oral cavity proper. In the anterior part of the cavum oris proprium different kinds and very differentiated qualities of sensorial information are perceived (touch, taste, olfaction, temperature). It is conceivable that the taste areas play an important role in perceiving fresh saliva, together with the other sensorial structures in this part of the mouth. This problem can be solved experimentally and by behavioral studies. In addition to its topographical relation to the tongue, the organon sublinguale of Callicebus is structurally very similar to the plica sublingualis of Aotus and Alouatta. Since a sublingua does not occur in New World monkeys, it can be concluded that this organ represents a plica sublingualis which became adherent to the undersurface of the tongue.
This study was carried out at the Delta Regional Primate Research Center, Covington, Louisiana, U.S.A., and the Department of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy of the University of Kassel, Germany. The study was supported by NIH Grant No. 5-RO1-DEO 3665-02 DEN and by a “U.S. Senior Scientist Award” from the Humboldt Foundation (Bonn, Germany)
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Beckers, H.: Zur Morphologie der Papilla fungiformis einiger Primaten. Adv. Anat., Embryol. and Cell Biol. 50, fasc., 7–116 (1975)
Burmeister, H.: Beiträge zur näheren Kenntnis der Gattung Tarsius. Halle 1864
Dabelow, G.: Vorstudien zu einer Betrachtung der Zunge als funktionelles System. I. Die Gefäßver-sorgung der Zungenpapillen und die vorgeschalteten arterio-venösen Anastomosen. Morph. Jb. 91, 1–32 (1951)
Eisenacher, W.: Zur Morphologie der Papilla fungiformis einiger Nagetiere. Adv. Anat., Embryol. and Cell Biol. 50, fasc. 6, 57–117 (1975)
Gegenbaur, C.: Über die Unterzunge des Menschen und der Säugetiere. Morph. Jb. 9, 428–456 (1884)
Gegenbaur, C.: Beiträge zur Morphologie der Zunge. Morph. Jb. 11, 566–606 (1886)
Hill, W.C.O.: Primates II. Haplorhini: Tarsioidea. Edinburgh: University Press 1955
Hill, W.C.O.: Primates. IV. Cebidae, Part A. Edinburgh: University Press 1960
Hill, W.C.O.: Primates. V. Cebidae, Part B. Edinburgh: University Press 1962
Hofer, H.: On the organon sublinguale in Callicebus (Primates, Platyrrhini). Folia primatol. 11, 268–288 (1969)
Hofer, H.: On the denticles of the sublingua in Galago crassicaudatus E. Geoffry, 1812. (Primates, Prosimiae, Lorisiformes). Folia primatol. 24, 188–202 (1975)
Hofer, H.: Preliminary study of the comparative anatomy of the external nose of South American monkeys. Folia primatol. 25, 193–214 (1976)
Hofer, H.: On the sublingual structures of Tarsius (Prosimiae, Tarsiformes) and some platyrrhine monkeys (Platyrrhina, Simiae, Primates) with casual remarks on the histology of the tongue. Folia primatol. (1977) (in press)
Hofer, H., Meinel, W.: A comparative study on the microscopic anatomy of the sublingua of Tupaia glis (Tupaiiformes). Folia primatol. 26, 229–243 (1976)
Kunze, K.: Die Papilla filiformis des Menschen als Tastsinnesorgan. Adv. Anat., Embryol. and Cell Biol. 41, fasc. 5, 1–64
Machida, H., Perkins, E., Giacometti, L.: The anatomical and histochemical properties of the tongue of primates. Folia primatol. 5, 264–279 (1967)
Ortmann, R.: Über vasosensoriale Funktionseinheiten. Z. Anat. Entwickl.-Gesch. 118, 279–301 (1955)
Pocock, R.I.: On the external characters of South American monkeys. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1920, 91–113 (1920)
Schneider, R.: Zunge und weicher Gaumen. Primatologia 3, 61–126 (Basel: Karger 1958)
Skramlik, E. von: Die „Lupenwirkung” der Zunge. Z. Biol. 109, 1–13 (1956)
Sonntag, C.F.: The comparative anatomy of the tongues of the mammalia. IV. Families 3 and 4. Cebidae and Hapalidae. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1921, 497–524 (1921)
Woollard, H.H.: The anatomy of Tarsius spectrum. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1925, 1071–1184 (1925)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Acknowledgements. Sincere thanks are due to Drs. W. Meinel, A. Woehrman and A. Castenholz for their assistance, encouragement, helpful discussions and for serving as hosts. The technical services of A. Scheuer, M. Siepmann, Kassel, Germany, and C. Schurtz, Covington, U.S.A. are gratefully acknowledged. The author is also indebted to Drs. W. Mason, Davis, California, and R. Lorenz, Göttingen, Germany, for helpful discussions on the problem of taste in primates. Acknowledgements are also due to Drs. B. Kaack and J.M. Ordy for assistance in preparation and to C. Andersen for typing of the manuscript.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hofer, H.O. Taste areas of the plica sublingualis of Alouatta and Aotus (Primates, Platyrrhini). Cell Tissue Res. 177, 415–429 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00220315
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00220315