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Ocean
Surgeon
Acanthurus
bahianus
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<Click
on image for magnified view.>
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Anterior
section of intestine
(100x). a) lumen. b) goblet cell. c) circular muscle layer.
d) longitudinal muscle layer. e) submucosa. f) mucosa.
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| Longitudinal
section of the anterior intestine
(250x). a) muscularis longitudinalis. b) muscularis circularis.
c) lamina propria. d) lamina epitheliasis. The gut length
to total length ratio in these fish is about 2 : 1, and is
suggestive of their primarily herbivorous diet. The thin-walled,
tightly coiled intestines of these fish are filled with sand
(in wild-caught fish) and are often teeming with various flora
and fauna that may aid in the digestion of their algal forage.
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