Mammal Study
Online ISSN : 1348-6160
Print ISSN : 1343-4152
ISSN-L : 1343-4152
Volume 25, Issue 1
Displaying 1-7 of 7 articles from this issue
Original papers
  • Akira Sano
    2000 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 1-15
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: June 30, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The postnatal growth, infant mortality, and development of thermoregulative ability related to maternal nursing behavior in Rhinolophus ferrumequinum nippon were investigated in abandoned mines. Forearm length increased rapidly and attained 90.4% of the adult size at 16-18 days old. Thermoregulative ability also was established by 16-18 days. Pre-weaning mortality averaged 3.6%. Mothers with infants whose thermoregulative ability was insufficient remarkably reduced their feeding time to keep infants warm by embracing them. The intensive investment of maternal labor in maintaining a suitable thermal environment may promote postnatal growth and increase infant survival.
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  • Yuichi Narita, Sen-ichi Oda, Osamu Takenaka, Takashi Kageyama
    2000 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 17-26
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: June 30, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Pepsinogens are zymogens of pepsins, the gastric digestive proteinases found in vertebrates. Pepsinogens A and C are the main components occurring in adult mammals, and prochymosins and pepsinogen F are expressed specifically in neonatal mammals. It is known that the relative levels of pepsinogens A and C in the gastric mucosa differ among different species of mammals. Three major pepsinogens (A, C, and prochymosin-like zymogen (PLZ)) were purified from the greater horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum using DEAE-Sephacel chromatography and fast protein liquid chromatography. The relative levels of these three zymogens, based on their activity in the gastric mucosa, were calculated to be 36% for A, 48% for C, and 16% for PLZ. The expressional pattern of pepsinogens A and C were similar to those previously found in the house musk shrew Suncus murinus and amongst artiodactyls, but differed significantly from those found amongst. rodents, in rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus, and amongst carnivores. The PLZ appears to be a novel type of pepsinogen specific to bats. The enzymatic properties of bat pepsinogens are also described.
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  • Motoki Sasaki, Hideki Endo, Masako Yamamoto, Kazuyoshi Arishima, Yoshi ...
    2000 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 27-34
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: June 30, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The musculature and functional anatomy of the head and skull of a tiger Panthera tigris were, examined and compared with those of various other felid species. The Musculus masseter is divided into three layers. The superficial layer of which is well-developed and further sub-divided into lateral and medial components. The ventro-caudal fleshy portion of the lateral component originates behind the last upper molar, where it is attached by a strong tendon to the tubercle tuber maxillae. The medial component, which runs dorso-ventrally, has a particularly well-developed fleshy portion. The present anatomical study suggests that in the tiger, large masseteric forces are produced in both ventro-rostral and ventro-dorsal directions. In the tiger, a process is present on the tubercle of the maxilla from which the strong tendon originates. This process is also apparent in the leopard Panthera pardus, the jaguar P. onca and the puma Felis concolor. It is not found, however, in either the domestic cat F. catus or the Iriomote wild cat F. iriomotensis. Comparisons between the skulls of various species of felidae indicate that whereas the puma, the leopard and the jaguar each possess the strong tendon, which bundles the ventro-caudal fleshy portion of the lateral component, the domestic cat and the Iriomote wild cat only possess weak tendons attaching to this component.
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  • Tatsuo Oshida, Noboru Hachiya, Michihiro C. Yoshida, Noriyuki Ohtaishi
    2000 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 35-39
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: June 30, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The anatomy of the wrist of the Japanese giant flying squirrel Petaurista leucogenys was investigated, and, on the basis of myological data, a hypothesis was formed concerning the origin of the long accessory styliform cartilage supporting the flying membrane. The styliform cartilage in the forelimb of P. leucogenys lies along the ulnar side; its length is almost equivalent to that of the radioulna. During the present study, it was recognised that both the flexor carpi ulnaris muscle and the flexor retinaculum attach to the proximal end of the styliform cartilage. The results of our anatomical studies suggest that in P. leucogenys, the styliform cartilage is essentially homologous to the pisiform bone in other mammals and is presumed to have originally been derived from a sesamoid bone.
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  • Tatsuo Oshida, Hiroaki Hiraga, Takayuki Nojima, Michihiro C. Yoshida
    2000 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 41-48
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: June 30, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    An anatomical and histological study was made of the long accessory styliform cartilage, which supports the flying membrane of the Russian (Siberian) flying squirrel, Pteromys volans orii. The present study clarified that the flexor carpi ulnaris muscle attaches to the proximal end of the styliform cartilage, suggesting that the styliform cartilage is essentially homologous to the pisiform bone of other mammals. In addition, histological examination of specimens grouped in four age classes (one-, three-, five-, and eight-year-old) demonstrated that the styliform cartilage of P. v. orii ossifies gradually as ageing proceeds.
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  • Hiroyuki Uno, Koichi Kaji
    2000 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 49-57
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: June 30, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Seasonal movements of 16 female sika deer (Cervus nippon) were monitored using radio telemetry from April 1993 through June 1996 in eastern Hokkaido. Fifteen of these deer migrated between summer and winter ranges, and one was killed during the hunting season, before we could determine its migratory habits. Timing of spring migration coincided with snow-melt in April and May. Snow cover also influenced the timing of autumn migration, but its effects were less clear. Distances traveled from winter to summer ranges averaged 19.9 km (n=22) and maximum distance was 42.0 km. Deer showed high fidelity to summer ranges; all 9 females that were monitored more than 12 months used the same summer range in consecutive years. Fidelity to winter ranges was less apparent. Distances between consecutive winter ranges used by individual deer averaged 5.0 km (n=10) and those between consecutive summer ranges averaged 0.6 km (n=10).
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  • Hidemasa Maeda, Naoto Higashi, Senzou Uchida, Fumihiko Sato, Manami Ya ...
    2000 Volume 25 Issue 1 Pages 59-73
    Published: 2000
    Released on J-STAGE: June 30, 2005
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Changes in the songs of humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the Ryukyu and Bonin regions of Japan were examined, and songs from the two regions were compared. Eighty-four song sessions in the Ryukyu region, from 1991 to 1997, and eleven song sessions in the Bonin region, from 1992 to 1995, were analyzed. The mean number of theme types was 6.9 for the Ryukyu samples and 7.6 for the Bonin samples. Song similarities were higher within winter than between winters and similarity declined as the number of intervening years increased, indicating that in these regions songs change with time. Song similarities for consecutive years varied, suggesting that the rate of change varies annually. Songs in the same year were very similar in both the Ryukyu and Bonin samples, furthermore site-specific theme types were not found. These results suggest there may be acoustic contact between animals using the two regions, supporting a previous photographic study which indicated that humpback whales migrate between these two regions.
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