|
Shark
|
Digestion can take a long time. The food moves from the mouth to a 'J' shaped stomach, where it is stored and initial digestion occurs. Unwanted items may never get past the stomach, and instead the shark either vomits or turns its stomachs inside out and ejects unwanted items from its mouth.
One of the biggest differences between shark and mammalian digestion is sharks’ extremely short intestine. This short length is achieved by the spiral valve with multiple turns within a single short section instead of a long tube-like intestine. The valve provides a long surface area, requiring food to circulate inside the short gut until fully digested, when remaining waste products pass into the cloaca.
|
|