Histological and cytological structure of the gastrointestinal tract of the luderick, Girella tricuspidata (pisces, kyphosidae), in relation to diet.

The gastrointestinal tract of Girella tricuspidata, an herbivorous teleost, is differentiated into esophagus, stomach, pyloric caeca, intestine, and rectum. The mucosa of the esophagus consists almost entirely of elongated secretory cells, with an underlying submucosa and prominent circular and longitudinal muscle layers. The anterior part of the stomach contains a mucous surface epithelium and a network of tubular glands having only one type of glandular cell, to which secretion of both pepsinogen and HCl is attributed. The tubular glands are not present in the pyloric region. The gastric wall contains well developed circular muscle and submucosal layers. The pyloric caeca contain a mucosa containing two types of exocrine cells. The nature and function of secretions from these cells is discussed. The intestinal mucosa is differentiated into an anterior (ca. 30%) and a posterior section. The enterocytes of the anterior portion show evidence of lipid absorption, while those of the posterior intestine and rectum show considerable pinocytotic activity. The pyloric caeca, intestine, and rectum have a layer of submucosa and a thin layer of circular muscle. The presence of the prominent circular muscle in both the esophagus and the stomach is postulated to be advantageous to an herbivorous fish. However, other ultrastructural features of the gastrointestinal tract of the luderick are similar to those described in carnivorous fish and appear to show no specialization for herbivory.