More of the same makes a difference: comparative anatomy and molecular makeup of tenrec and hedgehog intestines

Here, we investigate how digestive tract morphology reflects the interaction between anatomy, molecular makeup, taxon-specific physiology, and ecological context. We show that several taxa occupying similar trophic niches, tenrecs (Setifer setosus, Echinops telfairi), African hedgehogs (Atelerix and Paraechinus spp.), and the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), have similar gastrointestinal morphology (a simple stomach and an intestinal tube of largely homogeneous diameter without a cecum) yet differ markedly in total intestinal length, mainly due to differences in small intestine length.

Setifer setosus has a comparable relative length of the intestinal regions to E. europaeus, while A. albiventris has a slightly elongated large intestine. Although S. setosus exhibits enhanced absorptive capacity at the microanatomical level, reflected in higher serosal surface area enlargement factors, its shorter absolute intestinal length constrains total absorptive surface. Thus, E. europaeus possesses approximately 2.5 times the absorptive surface of A. albiventris and five times that of S. setosus.