The Respiratory System of the Arctocephalus australis in Comparison to the Dog as a Land-Carnivore: Are There Adaptations to Marine Life?

Marine mammals are divided into three groups, with similar adaptations resulting from their aquatic lifestyle: sirenians, pinnipeds, and cetaceans. The present work focused on the South American fur seal, or Arctocephalus australis, a carnivore included in the pinnipeds group. We assessed whether th...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Molpeceres Diego, Ignacio, Martín Ortí, Rosario, Loureiro, Juan-Pablo, Tostado Marcos, Carlos, Tendillo Domínguez, Enrique, Santos Álvarez, Inmaculada, Pérez Lloret, Pilar, González Soriano, Juncal Milagros
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Recursos:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/73194
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/73194
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Arctocephalus australis
Anatomy
Respiratory system
Land-carnivore
Dog
Veterinaria
3109 Ciencias Veterinarias
Descrição
Resumo:Marine mammals are divided into three groups, with similar adaptations resulting from their aquatic lifestyle: sirenians, pinnipeds, and cetaceans. The present work focused on the South American fur seal, or Arctocephalus australis, a carnivore included in the pinnipeds group. We assessed whether the anatomical features of the Arctocephalus australis’ respiratory system are comparable to those of other land-carnivores or whether these individuals show anatomical adaptations related to their ability to dive or their breath-holding capacities. We studied 11 cadavers of Arctocephalus australis, which included adult (n = 2) and juvenile (n = 9) individuals, by anatomically dissecting their isolated entire respiratory system. Although it is generally similar to that in land-carnivores, we demonstrated that the Arctocephalus australis’s respiratory apparatus shows several specific characteristics. Therefore, our results are of great importance for clinical diagnostic and wildlife conservation purposes.