Gut ausgebildete, unpaare Blinddärme bei der Bronzeflügeltaube(Phaps chalcoptera) und der Rotschopftaube(Geophaps plumifera)?

Zusammenfassung

Bei der Bronzeflügeltaube (Phaps chalcoptera) und der Rotschopftaube (Geophaps plumifera) konnten relativ groß ausgeprägte (bis 45 cm Länge beiP. chalcoptera), unpaare Blinddärme festgestellt werden, die für diese Vogelordnung bisher als eher untypisch galten.

Summary

Most groups of birds have paired (left and right) ceca opening into the cranial part of the rectum. Ceca are absent in a number of birds, e.g. Psittaciformes and some Columbidae (e.g. Baumel 1979, Landolt 1984). A single cecum (typical for almost all mammals) is only found in certain birds, notably known up to now in some spp. of Procellariiformes, Ciconiiformes (especially herons), and Pelecaniformes (Clench & Mathias 1995). We dissected two different Columbidae-species (freshly killed and then lost by an Australian HobbyFalco longipennis) in Karijini NP, Western Australia, in November 1996. They both showed an unpaired cecum. InPhaps chalcoptera the cecum reached a length of at least 45 cm (length of total alimentary tract: 45 cm). The one ofGeophaps plumifera was about 4 cm in length (total alimentary tract: 39 cm). These relatively big ceca may be related to food availability.