Abstract

The difference in the feeding habits of these three mammals necessitated this study, (pangolin being insectivorous, bat frugivorous and rat omnivorous). This study compared the macro and micro-morphometric adaptations adopted by the stomach of the three mammals to cope with their feeding habits. The study was carried out using sixteen rats, sixteen bats and eight pangolin of both sexes randomly divided into two equal groups each that is, A and B. The animals were sacrificed by cervical dislocation and the stomachs were quickly excised following abdominal incision. Those in group A were subjected to macro-morphometric analysis while those in group B have their excised stomach fixed in 10% formol saline and following histological processes, where subjected to micro-morphometric analysis. The results revealed that the stomach of the three mammals have a great deal of correlation with their feeding pattern; with that of the pangolin being significantly different (p<0.05) compared to the other two mammals due to their high chitinous diet. It is therefore concluded that the differences in the morphometric assessment is due to the different feeding pattern in the three mammals.

Key words: Feeding habit, morphometric, analysis, mammals, stomach, pangolin, bat, rat.