Editing Mammal (section)

====Digestive systems====
{{Multiple image
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| image1            = Aardwolfskull.jpg
| image2            = Canis lupus 02 MWNH 358.jpg
| footer            = The [[carnassial]]s (teeth in the very back of the mouth) of the [[insectivorous]] [[aardwolf]] (left) versus that of a [[grey wolf]] (right) which consumes large vertebrates
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Herbivores have developed a diverse range of physical structures to facilitate the [[Herbivore adaptations to plant defense|consumption of plant material]]. To break up intact plant tissues, mammals have developed [[Mammal tooth|teeth]] structures that reflect their feeding preferences. For instance, [[frugivore]]s (animals that feed primarily on fruit) and herbivores that feed on soft foliage have low-crowned teeth specialised for grinding foliage and [[seed]]s. [[Grazing]] animals that tend to eat hard, [[silica]]-rich grasses, have high-crowned teeth, which are capable of grinding tough plant tissues and do not wear down as quickly as low-crowned teeth.<ref>{{cite book| vauthors = Romer AS |year=1959|title=The vertebrate story| url = https://archive.org/details/vertebratestory00rome | url-access = registration |publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0-226-72490-4|edition=4th}}</ref> Most carnivorous mammals have [[carnassial]] teeth (of varying length depending on diet), long canines and similar tooth replacement patterns.<ref>{{cite journal| vauthors = de Muizon C, Lange-Badré B |year=1997 |title=Carnivorous dental adaptations in tribosphenic mammals and phylogenetic reconstruction |journal=Lethaia |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=353–366 |doi=10.1111/j.1502-3931.1997.tb00481.x |bibcode=1997Letha..30..353D }}</ref>

The stomach of [[even-toed ungulates]] (Artiodactyla) is divided into four sections: the [[rumen]], the [[Reticulum (anatomy)|reticulum]], the [[omasum]] and the [[abomasum]] (only [[ruminant]]s have a rumen). After the plant material is consumed, it is mixed with saliva in the rumen and reticulum and separates into solid and liquid material. The solids lump together to form a [[bolus (digestion)|bolus]] (or [[cud]]), and is regurgitated. When the bolus enters the mouth, the fluid is squeezed out with the tongue and swallowed again. Ingested food passes to the rumen and reticulum where cellulolytic [[microbe]]s ([[bacterium|bacteria]], [[protozoa]] and [[fungus|fungi]]) produce [[cellulase]], which is needed to break down the [[cellulose]] in plants.<ref name="Comparative anatomy of the stomach">{{cite journal | vauthors = Langer P | title = Comparative anatomy of the stomach in mammalian herbivores | journal = Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology | volume = 69 | issue = 3 | pages = 615–625 | date = July 1984 | pmid = 6473699 | doi = 10.1113/expphysiol.1984.sp002848 | s2cid = 30816018 }}</ref> [[Perissodactyls]], in contrast to the ruminants, store digested food that has left the stomach in an enlarged [[cecum]], where it is fermented by bacteria.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=Mqv4Lo1vpk4C|page=322}}| vauthors = Vaughan TA, Ryan JM, Czaplewski NJ |title=Mammalogy | name-list-style = vanc |edition=5th |publisher=Jones and Bartlett |year=2011 |page=322 |isbn=978-0-7637-6299-5 |chapter=Perissodactyla |oclc=437300511}}</ref> Carnivora have a simple stomach adapted to digest primarily meat, as compared to the elaborate digestive systems of herbivorous animals, which are necessary to break down tough, complex plant fibres. The cecum is either absent or short and simple, and the large intestine is not [[sacculation|sacculated]] or much wider than the small intestine.<ref>{{cite book |url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=B3crAAAAYAAJ|page=496}}| vauthors = Flower WH, Lydekker R |author2-link=Richard Lydekker |year=1946 |title=An Introduction to the Study of Mammals Living and Extinct |publisher=Adam and Charles Black |location=London |page=496|isbn=978-1-110-76857-8}}</ref>