Following the histological dynamics of DG in
O. maya,
Martínez et al. (2011) also observed an increment of residual body density 360 min after feeding, indicating that the feces and cellular debris removal process reached its maximum level at that time. Posteriorly, all the activity in the digestive system was reduced, with low production of residual bodies in the DG cells indicating that digestive cycle had ended (Figure
2A). At that time, nutrient reserves were accumulated in wait for the next meal (
Martínez et al., 2011; Figure
2B).
As was previously stated for
O. vulgaris by
Boucaud-Camou and Boucher-Rodoni (1983), is evident the digestive physiology of
O. maya and
O. mimus is a fast and strongly dynamic process. In adults, this process takes around 480 min to be completed, indicating that this type of animal should be fed at least every 8 h to maintain its health in captivity (
Linares et al., 2015). At a semi-pilot scale, this feed protocol has been followed for more than 5 years (
Rosas et al., 2014); adults of
O. maya were fed every 8 h using fresh scraps of marine fish or fresh crab (
Caamal-Monsreal et al., 2015) or a diet formulated to stimulate spawning in laboratory conditions (
Tercero-Iglesias et al., 2015). Under these conditions the number of eggs spawned was quite similar to those observed in wild spawns (
Vidal et al., 2014), indicating that laboratory animals fed every 8 h reach a similar healthy condition to those on the continental shelf of the Yucatán Peninsula, where this species lives (
Avila-Poveda et al., 2016;
Angeles-Gonzalez et al., 2017).
O. maya and
O. mimus are well adapted, as are the majority of cephalopod species, to digest a high-quality animal protein diet using a mix of acidic and alkaline enzymes. This allows them to efficiently obtain the energy and molecules necessary to maintain their physiological functions according to the environment where they live, as shown for the tropical (22–30°C;
O. maya) and temperate (14–22°C;
O. mimus) species.
