Fishes (Jul 2023)

First Record of Spinal Deformity in the South American Silver Croaker <i>Plagioscion squamosissimus</i> (Eupercaria: Sciaenidae) in the Xingu River, Brazil

  • Luciano Fogaça de Assis Montag,
  • Luiz Antônio Wanderley Peixoto,
  • Lidia Brasil Seabra,
  • Liziane Amaral Barbosa Gonçalves,
  • Cleonice Maria Cardoso Lobato,
  • Marina Barreira Mendonça,
  • Tiago Octavio Begot,
  • Erival Gonçalves Prata,
  • Tiago Magalhães da Silva Freitas

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes8070363
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 7
p. 363

Abstract

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Observations of skeletal malformations in fish in the wild are poorly documented and need to be investigated. Here we report the occurrence of body shortening in specimens of Plagioscion squamosissimus collected in the Volta Grande do Xingu, middle Xingu River region (Pará, Brazil), during a 12-month monitoring program (2021–2022). We observed morphological anomalies in nine individuals, of which two underwent radiographic analysis, recording the fusion and compression of vertebrae in different portions of the spine. The average percentage decrease in body length resulting from the deformity was 23.8%. This is the first record of malformation in this species.

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