Question

The digestion of cellulose in rabbit and other herbivorous mammals takes place in
A. Vermiform appendix
B. Colon
C. Caecum
D. Ileum

Answer 1

Hint:-Herbivorous mammals depend on plants for their food. Their digestive tract is much longer than the carnivorous mammals which feed on other animals. This increased length of the digestive tract gives more time to digest the cellulose present in plants.

Complete step-by-step solution:-
Rabbit and other herbivorous mammals possess a different kind of digestive system because they rely on plants for their food. Plants are known to contain cellulose which is hard to digest; hence, these animals possess a long digestive tract. Rabbits have developed a unique digestive system and most of its digestion process takes place in the caecum which is in the form of the chamber, located between the small and large intestines.

Vermiform appendix in rabbits and herbivorous animals is large and also helps in the digestion of cellulose but the maximum digestion of cellulose takes place in the caecum portion of the digestive system. So, option (A) is not correct.
Colon in rabbits has the role of sorting food into either indigestible or digestible forms. Thus, the indigestible component is eliminated quickly in the form of hard fecal pellets as it does not contain any nutritional value. The remaining digestible part is then again moved backward to the caecum part where fermentation takes place due to the presence of certain symbiotic bacteria. Hence, option (B) is incorrect.
The ileum is the last portion of the small intestine, where the remaining digestive nutrients are absorbed. It plays no role in the digestion of cellulose but is known to play a role in the absorption of digested products having nutritional value. So, option (D) is not correct.
Hence, the correct option is (C).

Note:- Rabbits belonging to the category of hind-gut fermenters are known to produce two types of fecal droppings. The caecum portion is known to digest most of the cellulose, extracting nutrients from it which are absorbed by the ileum portion.