Morphology of the lingual papillae in the jaguar.

We examined the dorsal lingual surfaces of an adult jaguar (Panthera onca) by scanning electron microscopy. The tongue of the jaguar was about 17 cm long, and the center of the lingual apex became hollow. There were 7 vallate papillae in total. The filiform papilla on the lingual apex consisted of a larger main papilla and some secondary papillae. The connective tissue core of the filiform papilla was mountain-like in shape. The connective tissue core of the fungiform papilla was mushroom-like in shape. The filiform papilla on the anterior part of the lingual body was large and cylinder-like in shape. The connective tissue core of the filiform papilla consisted of a big conical papilla and many rod-like papillae. The filiform papilla on the central part of the lingual body was a big conical papilla. The connective tissue core of the filiform papilla consisted of a rod process and bowl-like structure. The vallate papillae were located on both sides of the posterolateral aspects. The vallate papillae were flattened-oval in shape and the papillae were surrounded by a groove and pad. The top of the connective tissue core of the vallate papilla had a rough surface with no spines.