This document summarizes the stranding of a rare sunfish, Masturus lanceolatus, in the estuary of the Una River in Brazil. The fish was found alive but debilitated by local fishermen. Analysis revealed the fish had a high parasite load in its liver from nematodes and tapeworms, causing malnutrition as seen by its low body weight. It also showed signs of entanglement in fishing nets and shark attacks that mutilated its fins, hindering movement. The parasite infection and injuries likely caused the fish to drift and be washed against the reefs near the estuary before stranding. This represents the first recorded occurrence of this species on the coast of Pernambuco state in northeast
Molecular and cytogenetic phylogeography of h. malabaricuscmvolcker
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New species of freshwater sardines triportheus cope from frcDouglas Lopes
This slides are about the description of two new species of freshwater sardines Triportheus Cope, 1872 from the La Plata river basin, Brazil to be presented in the I Virtual Meeting of Systematics, Biogeography and Evolution.
Reptile Diversity in Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape, South Cotabato, Philipp...Innspub Net
Reptiles are highly diversewith high percentage of endemism in the Philippines. However, reptile diversity in Mindanao, the second largest island in the country,is poorly known. To determine the species richness, diversity, endemism and conservation status of reptiles, this study was conducted from August to December 2013in six sampling sites of Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape (MMPL), South Cotabato.Cruising methodwasdone in the six sampling sites of MMPL. Paleontological Statistics Software Package (PAST) version 3.06 was used to determine the biodiversity indices, similarity index, and Kruskal-Wallis test. Thirteen species of reptiles belonging to five families and 11 genera with percentage endemism of46.15% were documented. High species diversity of reptiles with more or less even distribution was recorded in MMPL. Among the sampled sites, sampling site 1, a disturbed lowland dipterocarp forest had the highest species diversityand endemism.Sphenomorphusvariegatus was the most abundant species. Tropidophoruspartelloi, the only Mindanao Island endemic species was only found in the disturbed and undisturbed montane forests. Most of the documented species were under the Least Concern status. Bray-Curtis cluster analysis showed that sites 2 and 5 had the highest similarity percentage (68%) while Kruskal-Wallis test showed no significant difference between samples in disturbedand undisturbed sites. Threats to the reptiles of MMPL were observed to be the conversion of forest to farmland and hunting thus implying the need for protection of habitats and conservation of species in MMPL.
Title: Miocene? paleoenvironments of Ituzaingó Formation (northeast Argentina...FrancoMaria2
We analyzed more than 40 different fossil wood taxa from the Ituzaingó Formation. Palaeoclimatic data was determined based on physiognomic anatomical features using multivariate anatomical analyses. These results were compared with other proxies, including Carlquist's index and Nearest Living Relatives (NLRs). The anatomical features of the fossil wood analyzed show a tendency to xerophytic and seasonal vegetation. The comparison with the living relative suggests that the Ituzaingó Formation flora has elements linked with Chaco, riparian, and components of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest (SDTF)
Diversity of Butterflies (Rhopalocera) inBulusukan (San Idelfonso, Bulacan, P...INFOGAIN PUBLICATION
There are 1,615 species and sub species of butterflies in the entire Philippines (C.R Baltazar, 1991), LUBG San Fernando La Union has 104 species recorded they belong to 6 families and 66 genera(Nacua et al2015).In Manila,Nacua (2016) 22 species of butterflies belong to 6 families 17 genera were also recorded. Thisstudyseeks to determine the species composition, conservation status, richness and abundance of butterflies in the town of Bulusukan, a community in San Ildefonso, Bulacan province (Luzon Island, Philippines). The opportunistic transect sampling method was used to collect butterflies. Collection was done at daytime on August 6, 2016 from 8 am up to 5 pm in areas with GPS of 15°04'26.0652"northand 121°02'39.9588"east near the vicinity of Bulusukan Cave.Species richness and butterfly diversity in all areas sampled was calculated. A dendogram showing 75% species abundance was accounted and comes mostly from the secondary dipterocarp forest. Graphium antiphates Cramer, Ypthima semperaand Ptychandra lorquini-lorquini were found to be endemic to Bulusukan. Butterflies were observed to be attracted to shady forest areas consisting of mosses clinging on metamorphic rocks along a river and includes species from the families Nymphalidae and Papilionidae. This study was able to identify 21 butterfly species with 19 genera 2 of them are rare and 2 endemic species of butterflies in Bulusukan. It is recommended to continue further study for wet and dry season.
Molecular and cytogenetic phylogeography of h. malabaricuscmvolcker
Claudio Michael Völcker
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Reptile Diversity in Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape, South Cotabato, Philipp...Innspub Net
Reptiles are highly diversewith high percentage of endemism in the Philippines. However, reptile diversity in Mindanao, the second largest island in the country,is poorly known. To determine the species richness, diversity, endemism and conservation status of reptiles, this study was conducted from August to December 2013in six sampling sites of Mt. Matutum Protected Landscape (MMPL), South Cotabato.Cruising methodwasdone in the six sampling sites of MMPL. Paleontological Statistics Software Package (PAST) version 3.06 was used to determine the biodiversity indices, similarity index, and Kruskal-Wallis test. Thirteen species of reptiles belonging to five families and 11 genera with percentage endemism of46.15% were documented. High species diversity of reptiles with more or less even distribution was recorded in MMPL. Among the sampled sites, sampling site 1, a disturbed lowland dipterocarp forest had the highest species diversityand endemism.Sphenomorphusvariegatus was the most abundant species. Tropidophoruspartelloi, the only Mindanao Island endemic species was only found in the disturbed and undisturbed montane forests. Most of the documented species were under the Least Concern status. Bray-Curtis cluster analysis showed that sites 2 and 5 had the highest similarity percentage (68%) while Kruskal-Wallis test showed no significant difference between samples in disturbedand undisturbed sites. Threats to the reptiles of MMPL were observed to be the conversion of forest to farmland and hunting thus implying the need for protection of habitats and conservation of species in MMPL.
Title: Miocene? paleoenvironments of Ituzaingó Formation (northeast Argentina...FrancoMaria2
We analyzed more than 40 different fossil wood taxa from the Ituzaingó Formation. Palaeoclimatic data was determined based on physiognomic anatomical features using multivariate anatomical analyses. These results were compared with other proxies, including Carlquist's index and Nearest Living Relatives (NLRs). The anatomical features of the fossil wood analyzed show a tendency to xerophytic and seasonal vegetation. The comparison with the living relative suggests that the Ituzaingó Formation flora has elements linked with Chaco, riparian, and components of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest (SDTF)
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There are 1,615 species and sub species of butterflies in the entire Philippines (C.R Baltazar, 1991), LUBG San Fernando La Union has 104 species recorded they belong to 6 families and 66 genera(Nacua et al2015).In Manila,Nacua (2016) 22 species of butterflies belong to 6 families 17 genera were also recorded. Thisstudyseeks to determine the species composition, conservation status, richness and abundance of butterflies in the town of Bulusukan, a community in San Ildefonso, Bulacan province (Luzon Island, Philippines). The opportunistic transect sampling method was used to collect butterflies. Collection was done at daytime on August 6, 2016 from 8 am up to 5 pm in areas with GPS of 15°04'26.0652"northand 121°02'39.9588"east near the vicinity of Bulusukan Cave.Species richness and butterfly diversity in all areas sampled was calculated. A dendogram showing 75% species abundance was accounted and comes mostly from the secondary dipterocarp forest. Graphium antiphates Cramer, Ypthima semperaand Ptychandra lorquini-lorquini were found to be endemic to Bulusukan. Butterflies were observed to be attracted to shady forest areas consisting of mosses clinging on metamorphic rocks along a river and includes species from the families Nymphalidae and Papilionidae. This study was able to identify 21 butterfly species with 19 genera 2 of them are rare and 2 endemic species of butterflies in Bulusukan. It is recommended to continue further study for wet and dry season.
Background Sea otters are one of the few cute and cuddly creature.pdfshakeelkhan911
Background Sea otters are one of the few cute and cuddly creatures in the ocean. Visitors to the
coast of the Pacific Northwest love to watch their antics as they float effortlessly on their backs
among the floating fronds of kelp (large algae) or frolic with one another in play. They also have
some human-like skills. Sea otters place rocks on their chests and crack mussels and clams on
them, one of the few examples of tool use by animals other than primates. They also roll spiny
sea urchins between their paws to make them easier to eat. Part I. Around 1991, Dr. James Estes
and his colleagues at the University of Califomia, Santa Cruz, noticed that the otter populations
they had been studying for over 20 years were beginning to shrink. Sea otter populations
inhabiting several of the Aleutian Islands had declined as much as 90 percent in fewer than 10
years (Figure 1). What could cause such a sharp drop in sea otter numbers in this island chain of
Alaska? Alakla (Rtedrume fiom Euse ental, 190t)
A. How would you test a bypothesis? Dr. Fstes and his group hypothesired that increased
predation by killer whales was the cause of the sea otter decline. This was an unusual idea, since
killer whales and sea otters had been observed together in Alaska for decades with no obvious
interactions occurring between them. The first time a killer whale was observed attacking a sea
otter was in 1991. Nine more attacks were observed in the next seven years and it was these
attacks that finally led Dr. Estes and his colleagues to propose their hypothesis. To test this
hypothesis, the scientists needed to have infomation about the killer whale. 1. Make a list of the
types of information about killer whales: you believe the scientists might need to test their
hypothesis that increased predation by the whales was the cause of the sea otter decline. B. What
do the data tell you? Estes and his colleagues estimated the impact of killer whales on sea otter
populations by comparing trends in population size and survival rates of individually marked
otters between two adjacent locations on Adak Island--Clam Lagoon and Kuluk Bay, Kuluk Bay
is on an open coast, so sea otters there are exposed to killer whales. In Clam Lagoon, the
entrance from the open sea is too narrow and shallow for killer whales to get in.
2. Based on Figures 3 and 4 , what can you conclude about the effects of killer whales on sea
otter populations? 3. What level of ecology are the researchers studying? 4. Why do you think
the scientists both counted all the sea otters and did the tagging and radio tracking? Why didn't
they do just one or the other? 5. What are three abiotic factors in the environment that otters
interact with that may affect their survival? 6. What type of ecology experiment is this?
(observational, controlled, modeled)
Figure 2. Map of the North Pacific Ocean showing the Aleutian Islands and some specific sea
otter study sites. (From Estes, J.A., and D.O. Duggins. 1995. "Sea otters a.
The origin of introduced rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) - in the Santa C...International Aquafeed
Salmon and trout have been transplanted to habitats throughout the world and self-sustaining populations have been successfully established globally, with the exception of Antarctica (MacCrimmon 1971; Quinn et al. 1996; Nielsen 1996). Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) was first introduced into Argentinean Patagonia, the southernmost region of South America, at the turn of the twentieth century and eventually became the most conspicuous freshwater species in major river basins of the region (Pascual et al. 2002b).
The First Confirmed At-Sea Sighting of Longman’s Beaked Whale (Indopacetus pa...Teresa Martin
The Longman's beaked whale (Indopacetus pacificus) is a rare species that is thought to primarily inhabit deep waters in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. During a seismic survey in late 2014, a group of approximately twenty Longman's beaked whales were encountered in Kenyan waters. To our knowledge this was the first at-sea sighting for this species in the Kenyan Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ) to date. Here we present information and identification photographs pertaining to this sighting.
A ray of hope in the darkness: What we have learned from Yangtze giant soft-s...AbdullaAlAsif1
The Swinhoe's softshell turtle, Rafetus swinhoei (Gray, 1873),) is one of the world's largest freshwater turtles, and possibly the most endangered turtle species on the planet (Stanford et al., 2018). It has an overall length of over 100 cm and a width of up to 70 cm, and it can easily weigh up to 70–100 kg, maximum weight was recorded at 169 kg (Solimine, 2013; Trong, 2018). Despite its enormous size and unusual look, this species is incredibly secretive and only comes to the surface to breathe, preferring to remain submerged deep down. For this species, there is very little ecological information, and the remaining distribution is unclear. This could explain why it's so difficult to positively identify and confirm occurrences of this species in the wild (Trong, 2018). If we look back to the history and biogeography of this species, it can be found that the existential records were documented in the historical literature of the Chinese and Vietnamese dynasties. This species was once thought to only live along the Red River in China and Vietnam, as well as the lower Yangtze River floodplain in China, but its current population size is estimated to be just one wild individual of undetermined sex and a solitary captivity male in Suzhou Zoo, China. Although recent thorough searches in Yunnan, China, and Vietnam failed to confirm the presence of more wild specimens, some sightings were reported until around a decade ago (Stanford et al., 2018), giving hope that more individuals may yet exist in Vietnam.
Diversity and dispersion patterns of echinoderms in Babanlagan, Talisayan, Mi...Angelo Mark Walag
Echinoderms are fundamentally good indicators of health and status of coralline communities in marine waters. In this study, the diversity and distribution of echinoderm species were determined in Babanlagan, Talisayan, Misamis Oriental. In total, 387 individuals were collected coming from classes Echinoidea, Holothuroidea, Asteroidea, and Ophiuroidea. The majority of individuals collected were Protoreaster nodusus, which is a good indicator of reef health while the least abundant echinoderm species was Acanthaster planci. The pattern of distribution of majority of echinoderms was a clumped distribution while the other groups followed regular/uniform distribution, which may be due to limited dispersal ability and availability and available food sources. Moderate species diversity was also observed and species were rather similar in abundance, shown by the evenness index. This suggests good marine health, even under the threat of gleaning activities, active fishing, and habitat destruction. It is recommended that follow-up studies are conducted especially regarding monitoring of echinoderm species, to further assess the health of the intertidal zone in Babanlagan, Talisayan, Misamis Oriental.
Similar to 2010 araujo et al stranding of masturus lanceolatus (20)
2010 araujo et al stranding of masturus lanceolatus
1. Marine Biodiversity Records, page 1 of 5. # Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 2010
doi:10.1017/S1755267210000588; Vol. 3; e69; 2010 Published online
Stranding of Masturus lanceolatus
(Actinopterygii: Molidae) in the estuary of
the Una River, Pernambuco, Brazil: natural
and anthropogenic causes
m.e. araujo1, e.c. silva-falcao1, p.d. falcao2, v.m. marques1 and i.r. joca3
’ ~ ~
1
Departamento de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, 50730-540 Recife, Pernambuco State, Brazil, 2Veterinary
(voluntary researcher) and 3Grupo de Ictiologia MarinhaTropical, 50730-540 Recife, Pernambuco State, Brazil
Molidae are tropical marine teleosts that occur in all oceans. Among the species described, Masturus lanceolatus is considered
rare on the Brazilian coast, with only four records found in scientific publications. The present study reports the first occur-
rence of this species for the coast of the State of Pernambuco (north-eastern Brazil) and discusses the possible causes of its
˜ ´
being stranded. The specimen was found alive in the estuary of the Una River in the city of Sao Jose da Coroa Grande on
the southern coast of the state. The fish was unknown to the local community of fishermen, who considered it a ‘bad
omen’. The occurrence led to an environmental education project in the community carried out by members of the
Tropical Marine Ichthyology Group, which carried out an inspection, documentation, analysis of external injuries and collec-
tion of viscera for the subsequent histological analysis. After undergoing taxidermy, the specimen was donated to the Una
Museum. Analysis revealed that the fish suffered from an intense inflammatory process of the liver caused by polycystosis
of nematodes and Trypanorhyncha, which resulted in malnutrition, as observed by the low body weight. Moreover, a
likely stranding left the specimen more vulnerable to different species of shark, which mutilated it, hindering its locomotion.
This fish appears to have drifted and was thrown against the reefs near the estuary before its stranding.
Keywords: sunfish, river, first record, fishermen, north-eastern Brazil
Submitted 9 March 2010; accepted 28 April 2010
INTRODUCTION These fish are frequently infected with the larvae of worms
(Arru et al., 1991) and are well-known for their impressive
The family Molidae comprises species of epipelagic fish com- parasite load. Forty different genera of parasites have been
monly known as molas or ocean sunfish, which are distributed reported in a single species (Volgelinest, 2006).
in warm, tropical waters in all oceans (Matsuura, 2002). Only Masturus lanceolatus, commonly known as the sharptail
three species were described for this family: Ranzania laevis mola, has broad distribution in the western Atlantic, occurring
(Pennant, 1776), Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758) and Masturus from Nova Scotia to south-eastern Brazil (Klein-MacPhee,
´
lanceolatus Lienard, 1840. A recent genetic and biogeographi- 2002; Menezes, 2003). Records of occurrence in Brazil,
cal study confirmed the existence of a fourth species, Mola however, are rare and the species is only cited for the states
ramsayi (Giglioli, 1883), which is restricted to the southern ˜ ´
of Sao Paulo, Ceara (Figueiredo & Menezes, 2000) and
hemisphere (Parenti, 2003; Bass et al., 2005). Despite their Bahia. Only two specimens are deposited in ichthyologic col-
broad distribution, studies on the biology of these species lections in Brazil (Lopes et al., 2004).
are rare in Brazil and the majority involve the analysis of Recently Ahid et al. (2009) published an article on a speci-
individuals stranded on the shore either dead or severely men of Mola mola stranded in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande
debilitated (Lopes et al., 2004; Ahid et al., 2009). do Norte. However, the photograph clearly shows the clavus in
Morphologically, molas are considered the heaviest living the shape of a lance, which characterizes it as M. lanceolatus.
marine teleosts and have a very tall, laterally flat body. The The aims of the present study are to analyse the possible
dorsal and anal fins are used for propulsion and the caudal causes of the stranding of a sharptail mola and record the first
fin is modified in a structure called a clavus. The mouth is occurrence of M. lanceolatus for the coast of Pernambuco
very small and the teeth are united in the form of a beak State, Brazil.
(Parenti, 2003). Molidae feed mainly on zooplankton, but
also jellyfish, algae, crustaceans and fish (Parenti, 2003);
juveniles feed on benthic invertebrate (Matsuura, 2002). MATERIALS AND METHODS
Characterization of the area
Corresponding author:
´
M.E. Araujo ˜ ´
The estuary of the Una River is located at Sao Jose da Coroa
Email: elisabeth.araujo@ufpe.br Grande on the southern coast of the State of Pernambuco,
1
2. 2 ’
m.e. arau jo et al.
123 km from Recife (State capital). Its margins are colonized by 0900 on 15 September 2006. The fish was being tossed by
mangrove forests. Tidal plains form at the mouth of the river, the waves in the surf zone. It was quite debilitated, but
along with a sandbar parallel with the coast. Reefs are abundant still alive. The fish was unknown to the fishermen and their
throughout the coast and are located approximately 400 m from colleagues, who wanted to either burn or bury it, thinking
the mouth of the river. The stranding occurred on the left margin that it was a ‘bad omen’. Native fishermen called the
of the delta approximately 120 m from the coastline at the coor- team from the Tropical Marine Ichthyology Group (IMAT)
dinates 8852′ 42.18′′ S 35808′ 17.85′′ W (Figure 1). to help them. Two researchers of IMAT, coordinated by
´
M.E. Araujo, together with other researchers, including the
Description of specimen and external injuries authors, went to the site to: (1) identify the specimen; (2) reas-
sure the population; and (3) conserve the fish on ice until the
The examination of the external injuries was initially arrival of the taxidermist (I.R. Joca). The IMAT acquired the
performed at the stranding site and subsequently through specimen and donated it to the Una Museum, where it is cur-
photographs taken on the day of the capture. Investigations rently on display (Figure 2).
were made into the causes of the injuries through a compara- The occurrence was reported by national newspapers and
tive analysis of data published in scientific journals. For television news due to the fact that this fish is rare, not only
the identification of shark bites, specialist Dr Paulo to the local population of the small beach, but also to the
Guilherme Vasconcelos de Oliveira, adjunct professor of the scientific community.
Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, was consulted, It is possible that the specimen described here died prema-
along with bibliographic resources. turely, as its age was estimated at 20 years, using a calculation
based on the von Bertalanffy curve presented by Liu et al.
Preparation of histological slides (2009). According to the authors, M. lanceolatus longevity is
estimated at 105 and 82 years for females and males, respect-
After being collected and fixed in 10% formalin, fragments
ively. While molas have k-strategie characteristics, such as
were removed from the oesophagus, stomach, intestine, liver
slow growth and late maturation, they also have the greatest
and heart (auricle and ventricle). The samples were submitted
fecundity among existing vertebrates, with as many as
to routine histological techniques. Tissues were dehydrated in
300,000,000 eggs (Parenti, 2003).
an increasing concentration of alcohol, diaphanized in xylol,
The specimen described here was male, measured 170 cm
embedded in paraffin, cut on a microtome to micro-sections
and weighed 78 kg. The three other specimens found in
5 mm in thickness and stained with haematoxylin –eosin
˜
Bahia (Lopes et al., 2004), Sao Paulo (Figueiredo &
(HE) (Maia, 1979) for mounting on slides.
Menezes, 2000) and Rio Grande do Norte (Ahid et al.,
2009) measured 112 cm, 170 cm and 93 cm and weighed
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 50 kg, 119 kg and 24 kg, respectively. Comparing the body
mass index (BMI) of these specimens, the fish from
The specimen of Masturus lanceolatus was found by three Pernambuco was the thinnest (BMI ¼ 27) and the specimen
local fishermen in the estuary of the Una River at about from Sao Paulo was the fattest (BMI ¼ 41.2).
˜
Along with the low body weight, a set of factors suggest the
reasons for the stranding: (1) high parasite load in the liver; (2)
net entanglement followed by stress; (3) susceptibility to shark
attacks, with mutilation of the fins; (4) locomotion difficulty
stemming from mutilated fins; and (5) body striking the
reefs that form a barrier before arriving at the site where the
specimen was found.
The histopathological study of fragments from the oeso-
phagus, stomach, intestine and heart revealed no noteworthy
alterations. The liver had numerous cists from nematodes and
cestodes from the order Trypanorhyncha in the hepatic
Fig. 1. Location of stranding of Masturus lanceolatus in the estuary of the Una ˜ ´
Fig. 2. Specimen of Masturus lanceolatus on display at Una Museum (Sao Jose
River, Pernambuco, Brazil. da Coroa Grande, PE) following taxidermy.
3. stranding of sunfish in the una estuary, brazil 3
Fig. 3. Some results of the histopathological study of the specimen of Masturus lanceolatus, stranding on Una River, Pernambuco: (A) macroscopic view of liver
with numerous cysts from parasites; (B) worm polycytosis in hepatic parenchyma (magnification: 10×); (C) leukocyte infiltrate (magnification: 10×); (D) dilation
of artery (left side) and encapsulated parasite (right side) (magnification: 10×); (E) transversal concentric hyaline formation similar to encapsulated nematode
(magnification: 40×); (F) macroscopic view of cestode from the order Trypanorhyncha.
parenchyma, with perforation of the stroma of the organ, hepatic parenchyma, leukocyte infiltrates (Figure 3C) and
allowing a view of the cysts externally (Figure 3A). On dilation of arteries (Figure 3D).
average, each cyst contained one parasite, as reported by Encysted nematodes inhabit different tissues in fish,
Rodrigues et al. (2002) in fish from the family Characidae. causing cell disorganization and a variable amount of phago-
The liver exhibited parenchyma loss due to the presence of cyte cells and lymphocyte infiltrates (Eiras & Rego, 1989). The
worm polycytosis (Figure 3B). Several transversal concentric erratic migration of nematode larvae in viscera such as the
hyaline formations similar to nematodes were observed liver is not uncommon (Roberts, 2001). In the intermediate
(Figure 3E). The cysts were enveloped by a fibrous capsule host, the larvae are found either floating freely or encapsulated
of conjunctive tissue and some exhibited invasion of the in the abdominal cavity or adhered to the liver (Moravec,
˜ ´
Fig. 4. External injuries on specimen of Masturus lanceolatus captured live in the estuary of Una River (Sao Jose da Coroa Grande, PE). (A, B) Scratches; (E & H)
rashes; (G) x-shape mark and linear cut with knife; (C, D & F) shark bites.
4. 4 ’
m.e. arau jo et al.
1998), as found in the liver of the specimen described here. this marine zone where reefs are concentrated, over which
Post mortem studies of the Mola mola revealed multifocal molas pass when needing to clean off ectoparasites, which is
hepatic and renal granulomas and hepatic cysts of cestodes performed by fish from the families Chaetodontidae and
(Volgelnest, 2006). Digenetic hemiurid and plerocercoid para- Pomacanthidae (Konow et al., 2006). Although the coast of
sites from Trypanorhyncha were recorded in the specimen of Pernambuco has a large area of reefs, this is the first record
M. lanceolatus mistakenly identified as M. mola (Ahid et al., of this species for this area. Thus, it is believed that the injuries
2009). Adults and larvae of species from this order are often supposedly caused by the specimen striking the reefs occurred
found in the gastrointestinal apparatus of elasmobranchs after the shark bites, which is the main factor attributed to its
and a number of teleost species (Campbell & Beveridge, stranding.
˜
1994; Knoff et al., 2004, Sao Clemente et al., 2004, Dias
et al., 2009), as found in the specimen of M. lanceolatus
described here. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Although Campos et al. (2008) state that extensive eosino-
philia is not usual with the inflammatory reaction of host fish The authors are grateful to the fishermen Amaro Tenorio, ´
to parasites, the intensity of encapsulated parasites in the ´
Amaro Junior and Valnencir Ferreira; to Luciano Silva who
specimen of M. lanceolatus led to various points of leukocyte notified us of the stranding, thereby keeping the mola from
infiltrates, thereby characterizing an inflammatory process. being buried or burned; to IMAT biologists Leonardo Bruto
This condition may have led to the initial debility of the speci- and Fernando Melo for having conserved the specimen,
men, making it an easy target for predation or fishing nets. photographed it on the day of capture and interviewed the
Fishing net marks in the form of an ‘x’ were found on the fishermen; to Bertrando Bernardino, Ricardo G. Ferreira, J.
epidermis of the specimen (Figure 4G), revealing that the fish Barbosa de Andrade and his wife for the logistic and financial
must have been imprisoned in a fishing net and suffered stress ´ ´
support; to J. Carlos Tenorio, Diogo Tenorio, Jailton Batista
and trauma, which further aggravated its state of health and and Lucilo Marinho for help with the transportation, main-
enabled attacks from predators and parasites. Accidental tenance and taxidermy of the specimen; and to the Brazilian
entanglement in fishing gear is one of the main threats to fostering agency CNPq for the grant given to the first author.
mola populations, as species from the family are often
reported as by-catch in lone-line fisheries (Joung et al.,
2005) and drift nets (Akiol et al., 2005). REFERENCES
Both recent and old shark bites of different shapes and
origins were found during the external analysis of the speci- Ahid S.M.M., Filgueira K.D., Fonseca Z.A.A.S., Soto-Blanco B. and
men. One bite mark was typical of some species of cigar ˆ
Oliveira M.F. (2009) Ocorrencia de parasitismo em Mola mola
shark from the genus Isistius. The specimen had a circular ´
(Linnaeus, 1758) por metazoarios no litoral do Rio Grande do
orifice that was apparently recent, as the skin that covered Norte, Brasil. Acta Veterinaria Brasilica 3, 43–47.
the area was still attached to the upper margin of the injury Akiol O., Erdem M., Unal V. and Ceyham T. (2005) Investigations on
(Figure 4D). The concentration of bites on the sides of the drift-net fishery for swordfish (Xiphias gladius L.) in the Aegean Sea.
body was likely due to the fact that these areas are the Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences 29, 1225–1231.
largest and most easily accessed in this type of attack (Souto
Arru E., Garippa G. and Sanna E. (1991) Molicola horridus in Luvaris
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